Green certificates are tradable documents that certify that electricity was generated from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, wave, tidal, geothermal or biomass.
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway will rekindle talks with Nordic neighbor Sweden to revamp and expand its green certificate scheme to promote investment in renewable energy, the Norwegian energy ministry said on Friday.
Green certificates are tradable documents that certify that electricity was generated from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, wave, tidal, geothermal or biomass.
The certificates are meant as an incentive for alternative energy sources, but the scheme has long been hobbled by unclear regulations, according to industry analysts.
"After contact with Swedish energy officials, the government plans to start new talks with Sweden on green certificates," Norway's Petroleum and Energy Minister Aaslaug Haga said in a statement.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Similar talks between the Scandinavian countries yielded no results in 2005-2006 because Norway failed to decide on linking up with Sweden's certificate system which is further advanced.
Since then, Norway has pushed ahead with ambitious plans to gain 30 terawatt hours of energy from renewable sources and by increased efficiency by 2016.
"To achieve this goal we need a good industrial arrangement that stimulates production of renewable energy," Haga said.
Further boosting its environmental credentials, Norway also aims to slash net emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to zero by 2050 through a combination of efficiency gains at home, investments in green projects abroad and buying CO2 credits.
If the cross-border talks fail, Norway plans to update its own rules regarding renewable energy, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa; editing by James Jukwey)
