| Registered | upon complaint 22 June 2023 |
|---|---|
| Status | opened under Article 91 |
Under Article 4(4) of Directive 2001/80/EC, large combustion plants may be exempted from compliance based on a written declaration by the operator not to operate the plant for more than 20,000 operational hours after 1 January 2018, or, in any case, later than 31 December 2023 (the so-called „opt-out” mechanism). The Ministerial Council approved the list of opted-out plants via Decision 2016/19/MC-EnC. The subject matter of this case is the non-compliance with these rules in the case of TPP Morava, one out of the four opted-out plants in Serbia.
The Secretariat preliminarily concluded that this plant has failed to respect the opt-out rules under Article 4(4) of Directive 2001/80/EC. Even though it has reached the 20,000 operational hours limit in 2022, it neither complied with the stricter standards of the Industrial Emissions Directive, nor ceased their operations, as required by Energy Community law.
Directive 2001/80/EC took effect in the Energy Community on 1 January 2018. The directive requires operators of large combustion plants to significantly reduce the emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (dust) into the air.