Summary

March 2016 saw a number of policy changes in the global renewable power market.

In the Americas, Costa Rica’s Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) launched new rates for Distributed Generation (DG). The Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL) consented to Auction notice No 1/2016 (A-5) in Brazil. In the US, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) bill, and the Maryland General Assembly provided approval to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act of 2016. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provided its consent to Virginia’s offshore wind Research Activities Plan (RAP). Oregon Governor Kate Brown was involved in the signing of Senate Bill (SB) 1547 into law. The New York Public Service Commission mandated new regulations to foster solar power installations across New York State, and the Florida legislature advanced solar tax abatement.

In Asia-Pacific, the Indian state of Haryana introduced its Solar Power Policy 2016. The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) put forward a draft policy for repowering wind projects. Japan witnessed an 11% decrease in Feed-in Tariff (FiT) levels for solar Photovoltaic (PV) power.

In Europe, the UK government proposed to cease its support for solar thermal plants, and the 2016 Budget included provisions for boosting the offshore wind sector. The government also made an about-turn on the proposed solar Value-Added Tax (VAT) hike from 5% to 20%, with the government planning to continue with its 5% VAT for solar PV and solar thermal installations. The Dutch Senate gave its consent to an Emergency Bill revising the Dutch Electricity Act 1998.

Scope

- The report covers all policy changes across the globe for renewable energy technologies in March 2016.

Reasons to buy

- To gain insights on the policy changes for renewable technologies across the globe and understand its impact on the market.