The government today approved the 100 MW capacity limit for photovoltaic power plants that can be installed until 2025 under the net metering mechanism. These quotas are allocated to three categories of consumers according to their share in Moldova's annual energy consumption.

Thus, 43 MW are allocated to household consumers, 7 MW to public institutions and 50 MW to other types of consumers. The categorization of consumers will allow more public institutions to install photovoltaic panels and benefit from renewable energy in direct proportion to their consumption.

These allowances are allocated in addition to the already installed capacities, which in the last two years have grown exponentially, due to the increase in the prices of energy resources, after the start of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, has led to an accelerated development especially of photovoltaic projects used under the net metering mechanism. Thus, by the end of November 2023, more than 93 MW of generation capacities were installed under the net metering mechanism. Thus, the potential of installing capacities for self-consumption has been clearly demonstrated, which is why it was decided to switch from net metering to net billing, in the Law on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources.

Also, according to the amendments approved by the Government today, individual installed capacity power limits will be introduced for the net metering mechanism for photovoltaic installations. These are to be set individually for each final consumer, according to a formula, taking into account the maximum amount of average annual consumption in the last 3 calendar years and the electricity generated by an installationElectricity suppliers will procure from the prosumer only the amount of electricity generated within the individual capacity cap. The individual capacity caps to be offered for the implementation of the net metering mechanism will apply from March 1, 2024, allowing sufficient time to those prosumers who are already about to put the project into execution having all the agreed documents according to the installed capacity

At the same time, in order to ensure the monitoring of the implementation of this decision and to ensure the transparency and non-discriminatory nature of the process, additional obligations are provided for the publication of information related to the use of the approved capacity quotas.

The amendments were developed by the Ministry of Energy, with the support of the USAID Energy Security Project, based on several in-depth market and system analyses and modeling, in order to assess the capacities of renewable sources that can be integrated at system level in the coming years.

The decision supports Moldova's effort to increase the share of renewables in the country's final energy consumption from 6% to 30% by 2030, thus facilitating the access of citizens to play an important role in decarbonizing the national economy.

There is a trend in European practice to move from net metering to net metering, which is influenced by each country's energy policy objectives and the balance it strikes between promoting the uptake of renewable energy, ensuring fair compensation and maintaining financial stability for all players in the electricity market. Such a transition is also foreseen under Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RED II).