Needs-Challenges-Barriers-Opportunities

Needs/challenges, barriers, opportunities

Country

Norway

#

Name and reference of measure

Type of measure

Responsible organ

Existing or planned?

1

2

Improved system for energy labels

Remove the tax on waste incineration

Program

Tax harmonisation

OED, min Energy

FIN (min. of finance)

new From 1.1.10

Compulsory 1.7.10

Existing from 1990

Urgent Needs/Challenges

1.

Proposed guidelines for Energy label system under the Energy Act are discriminating use of DH and bioenergy. The system rewards low energy buildings using internal energy as heatpumps or solar heat and electricity. All external energy is regulated in a second heat label, with no value in the market.

The system makes it impossible to get a better label than C with DH or bioenergy.

The result is that building companies do not want DH, and tend to invest in own energy sypply, even if they are connected. There is no obligation to use DH.

The consequences for DH is a loss of clients and a difficult economic situations, which might reduce expansion of DH.

The politicians must change the system before 1.7.2010. NDHA want a system based on primary energy factors, to follow up the building directive.

2

Norway has a common waste market with Sweden. There is an export from Norway to Sweden due to more capacity in Sweden for waste incineration an more DH, that gives near 100% energy exploitation.

Sweden removes the waste tax from oct 2010. The Norwegian authorities have urged the Waste and Dh sector to invest in W-Inc the last 5 years, due to the land fill ban from 1.7.2009. But the financial crisis reduced the waste by 25% in Sweden, and they reduced the input fees to the plants for Norwegian waste, creating a crisis in 2009, when all waste contracts went to Sweden, and still does.

Only harmonization of the taxes will re-establish the situation, that means remove the waste tax in Norway from july 2010.

Challanges for DH: waste is the most important energy source, 6 existing cities have expanded DH infrastructure and 2 new cities, 3 cities are preparing, waiting for the results of the tax. There are invested 8-10 mrd NOK / 1 billrd euros in waste incineration and DH infrastructure by the government and private investors. The expanding of DH will stop, the waste will be replaced by electricity and fossil fuel, the emissions will increase in Norway. This is against all actual energy policy.

Main Driving Forces

1.

The DH sector, the bioenergy sector, the government (ministers of energy, of environment and of internal affair), the governmental parties of the parliament.

NTNU (the technical university)

EU- , the building directive

2.

4 sectors are cooperating to remove the tax: Dh sector, Waste sector , private organisation and the municipal org (KS) and Energi Norge(the main energy organisation). The matter will be decided in the governments budget conference in mars. We have by then a governmental hearing in the parliament and a meeting with the 3 actual ministers of energy, finance and environment. Supplied with heavy lobby work. The reviced state budget is proposed medio may.

Main Barriers

Main Opportunities

1

We have a positive dialog with the government. Parts of the energy authorities are against a change of guidelines.

Other organisations and the electricity sector wants a two label system , one label for the netto energy demand of the building and the other for the use of energy. This might be a subsidiary option for the Dh sector if the two labels are of equal value for the market, This is not the case today.

We are a minor part , but have valid arguments for a system using primary energy factors with CO2 coefficients.

2

We have a positive feeling to obtain our object, this is a crucial question for the hole DH sector, for the reputation if we are reducing our renewable share. The main obstacle is the ministry of finance that wants the revenue of the tax. This was last year of 100 mill NOK, but the export makes it fall to 50 mill NOk from 2010, the societal costs if lost investments are bigger, and great loss for the municipalities will need great support or increases of taxes from the customers/ inhabitants.

This is a big, not estimated political issue.