On 24th October 2013, the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community adopted two decisions containing the rules for the design and operation of large combustion plants. In the first decision, the Council adopted the Large Combustion Plants Directive, whereas the other decision incorporates the Chapter III and the Annex V of the Industrial Emissions Directive and sets 1st January 2018 as the implementation deadline for new plants.
The Ministerial Council envisages the possibility of the contracting parties using the National Emissions Reduction Plans (NERPs) as an alternative to the establishment of the limit emissions from the Large Combustion Plants Directive for each individual plant by 31st December 2027. In accordance with this Decision, the NERP can be implemented only within the period between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2027.
The NERP will ensure that the total emissions of nitrates, sulphur dioxide and powdery matter from combustion plants, on annual basis, do not exceed the level which would be achieved by implementing the limit emissions prescribed by the Large Combustion Plants Directive or the Industrial Emissions Directive, for the existing plants which were in operation in 2012 (including the plants which were undergoing modernization process at that moment so as to satisfy the requirements for emissions reduction in accordance with the national regulations) on the basis of the annual plant operation period, the kind of fuel consumed and the thermal power.
The values of limit emissions to be used in the calculation will be changed during this time period according to the rules determined by the Energy Community for 2018, 2023 and 2026/27. The NERP will define the total limit emissions of SO2, NO2 and dust for each year from 2018 to 2027. The limit emissions will be calculated at the national level for each plant. The deadline for preparing the NERP is 31st December 2015.
The plan should include the data on the plant name, location and operator, the date of obtaining the operating license and the start date, the plant capacity on the date of 31st December 2012, the annual quantity of fuel consumed (on the average for the period from 2008 to 2012), the average annual quantity of waste and the latest available data on the concentrations of SO2, NO2 and powdery matter for 2014 i.e. 2013.
As of 1st January 2019, once a year, the contracting parties will inform the Energy Community about the data for each plant included in the plan. With the aim of presenting the implementation progress, this report will also include the emissions projections for the scenarios that take into account current investments for which funding has been provided and implementation time schedule established.
