The parliament passes the new renewables law

The parliament passed the renewables bill (OZE) on Friday, Puls Biznesu daily reported. According to the bill,new rules supporting the industry will be implemented. As many as 228 members of parliament (MP) voted for, 167 were against the bill and two abstained. Before the main voting, the parliament rejected the motion to abandon the bill submitted by Law and Justice (PIS). Andrzej Czerwinski from Civic Platform (PO) said that the new law will let investment projects that were frozen for years be implemented. Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates system is to be changed to an auction system. The new procedure is to be cheaper for the national budget by over PLN 7 bln. By 2020, the budget is to save roughly PLN 20 bln, the government estimates.The government will decide how much of the renewable energy it needs to meet the EU climate policy requirements. Each technology is to have its own auction, which will be won by the one who will offer the lowest price. The winner will benefit fromgovernmental support for 15 years. What is more, the Polish consumers will pay extra in their energy bill (so called OZE fee) in order to support the industry's development. The new law was submitted by the ruling party. Some minoritymotions have also passed. The OZE bill will be considered by the Senate.