Legal sources on renewable energy

Structure and contents of the database

RES LEGAL is a professionally edited collection of important legal sources on the promotion of electricity generated from renewable energy sources and its access to the grid in 25 EU member states (except for Bulgaria and Romania). RES LEGAL aims both at providing a quick overview of the different national legal frameworks and at presenting detailed information on provisions regarding individual generation technologies (generation from wind, solar, geothermal and water energy, biogas and biomass) in a clear, concise and convenient way.

For this reason research on and review of all relevant national regulatory frameworks on the promotion of electricity generated from renewable energy sources and its access to the grid were entrusted to a team of legal experts in 2007 and 2008. The database is updated on a regular basis. The date created and the last change of the information presented are always clearly indicated. RES LEGAL is based on original legislation. Links to the original legal sources in the languages available will help you intensify your research. Furthermore, this website provides you with a list of contacts in national bodies and experts that will answer any further questions.

In order to optimise your search, information on any of the 25 countries reviewed on RES LEGAL is structured in the same way, which renders your search more systematic and enables you to compare information more easily. In the fields of both promotion and grid access, information on every country is presented on three levels:

• The overview of legal sources provides you with basic information on the means of promotion and the most important legislation on grid access in the country of your choice.
• The parts of overview of promotion system and overview of access to the grid include more extensive information on the systems of promotion and on access to the grid.
• The last level presents every means of promotion or the provisions on connection to, use of and expansion of the grid in detail.

You can access more detailed information on the corresponding legal sources by clicking on the links in the column on the right side of the screen. The second level (overview of promotion system or overview of access to the grid) includes a list of contacts for further information.

Search options

In order to render your search fast and efficient, you can choose from three search options:

• Search assistant. Search for given subjects and information.
• Full text search. Search for standard words.
• Search for countries.

1. Using the search assistant is a quick way to compare how the subject of your choice is handled in different countries. To start the assistant, please indicate the countries you want to compare by clicking on them. Subsequently, please select one of the three main areas of research ("promotion", "grid access" and "legal sources") and chose one of the above-mentioned topics you want to receive information on. The assistant immediately shows your search results.

2. Performing a full text search you can search for words of your choice in all texts on the website. The search is language-specific, i.e. only matches in the language used are found. You can also search for several words by using the linking options AND (standard setting if you enter more than one word), OR and NOT. Search results are displayed in descending order of relevance.

3. You can systematically access information on a single country with the search for countries and proceed from a general overview to more detailed information by following the database structure mentioned above (hierarchical search). This means that the search structure is pre-set. This search option suits especially those who would like to become familiar with the contents of the database and those who want to conduct a well-structured research on a country, as every search level is based on the previous one.