The EU’s 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework: How net metering slips through its net

Abstract

Net metering is a support scheme for the promotion of renewable energy sources (RES) that is linked with state‐of‐the‐art trends, especially in the field of electricity, such as distributed generation, self‐consumption and energy communities. Whilst the European Union (EU) Clean Energy Package has established a more coherent and comprehensive regime for RES support schemes in general, it makes no explicit reference to net metering schemes. This raises questions as to how and under which terms net metering schemes are compatible with EU law. Against this background, this article aims to analyse the relevant EU law provisions and conduct a comparative analysis of net metering regimes in four Member States to demonstrate that the national schemes enacted and applied have significantly different design features. The article argues that a more coordinated and specific approach on net metering at the EU level should emerge.

A Quadratically Constrained Optimization Problem for Determining the Optimal Nominal Power of a PV System in Net-Metering Model: A Case Study for Croatia

“…This type of approach makes it more profitable for self-consumers to directly consume the electricity they generate. An increase in self-consumption results in less electricity being drawn from the grid, and thus allows savings at the retail price [15].…”

“…Opposite of that, the algorithm would opt to postpone their consumption for after the demand peak, when electricity supply largely meets the demand. Unfortunately, the combinations of the net-metering model and smart metering are not yet widespread practice in the EU [15].…”

“…Comparing certain countries gives a good preview of different directions in which the net-metering model was implemented in the EU members. Such a comparison is shown in Table 2 obtained from [15,16], where the countries of Cyprus, Flanders (Belgium), Greece, Italy, and Poland are examined. According to [15], the Italian net billing system is well established.…”

“…Such a comparison is shown in Table 2 obtained from [15,16], where the countries of Cyprus, Flanders (Belgium), Greece, Italy, and Poland are examined. According to [15], the Italian net billing system is well established. Their grid operator primarily aims to ensure the stability of the system by charging grid costs, offering remuneration priced lower than retail, and limiting the maximum capacity per contract at 500 kWp.…”

“…In addition, Greece is the first EU country that introduced virtual net metering in 2017. By doing so, the investors have an opportunity to join together and maximize their profit [15].…”