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Final report completed by the feed-in tariff working group of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

The working group appointed by the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, studying the feed-in tariff for renewable energy, has completed its final report. The final report contains further specifications concerning the feed-in tariff for wind power and a proposal for the feed-in tariff for biogas. The interim report of the working group, published on 2 April 2009, presented a proposal for the feed-in tariff for wind power.The working group proposes a market-based guaranteed price of 83.5 €/MWh as the feed-in tariff for wind power for a period of 12 years. The working group suggests that the guaranteed price for biogas is similar to that of wind power, i.e. 83.5 €/MWh for a period of 12 years, and if the plant also produces heat for practical use, the plant obtains a raise of 50 €/MWh. The detailed suggestions are disclosed in the final report which can be found in Finnish at the Internet address indicated below. The working group suggests that the transmission system operator Fingrid or its fully-owned subsidiary would co-ordinate the system. At the moment, Fingrid manages similar arrangements, such as the feed-in tariff for peat and the power reserve system. Fingrid is prepared to take care of the feed-in tariffs proposed by the working group in a transparent, segregated and cost-efficient manner.
 
When devising feed-in tariff systems for renewable energy, it is important to take cost-efficiency and transparency considerations into account. It is sensible to exclude small power plants from the feed-in tariff arrangement because of their energy volume, which is small with respect to the goals, and because of their relatively high administrative costs. Forms of support better suited for small power plants can be found for them.