OREANDA-NEWS. August 14, 2013. This is the main goal to be addressed by the Ministry of Economy in the draft of the National Action Plan for the Renewable Energy Sources for 2013-2020. After receiving relevant conclusions on this document from the state institutions, the Ministry of Economy has organized the "round table" involving experts and investors.

The National Action Plan for renewable energy is a key policy document of Moldova in promoting the renewable energy sources in order to achieve strategic objectives: enhance security of energy supplies, provide sustainable development in the field of environment protection and reduce the effects of climate change.

The plan sets key goals to achieve 20% of the consumed energy from the renewable energy sources by 2020, establishing legislative, regulatory and administrative measures necessary to fulfill these goals. The Director of the General Directorate of Security and Energy Efficiency at the Ministry of Economy Vadim Ceban noted that the National Action Plan shall promote implementation of the Energy Strategy of Moldova till 2030.

The document provides strengthening electricity production process through modernization of thermal power plants, integration of energy facilities from Transnistria and the strategic development of energy production from the renewable sources, mainly due to the use of wind energy. Moldova should also connect its energy system to ENTSO-E for full integration into EU energy market (PIE) as well as provide balancing mechanism.

According to the document, the only real option of promoting renewable energy sources is organization of tenders with upper level of prices, depending on technology and timely tranches. The plan also includes provisions relating to investors and consumers’ protection. Thus, the winner of the auction will be granted the right to sell electricity produced from the renewable sources within the terms of 15 years’ contract. Prices will be indexed annually depending on inflation and the exchange rate.

The starting auction price will be adjusted depending on the technology cost. Investors will provide guarantees to ensure the proper level of implementation. In their turn, the investors have proposed amendments to legislation, in particular to the Land Code.

They also called for simplification of permits documentation in general. According to preliminary estimates, the implementation of the National Action Plan in the field of renewable energy sources in 2013-2020 will allow attracting investments of at least EUR 250 million. In addition, it will create new jobs and have a positive impact on GDP growth. If the actions connected with the energy strategy are successful, investments may exceed 600 million euro.