44. Federal Law, amending the Ecoelectricity Act (Ökostromgesetz-Novelle 2008) and the Income Tax Act 1988

The National Council has decided:

Article 1

Amendment of the Ecoelectricity Act

The Federal Law, which provides for new regulations in the field of electricity generation from renewable energy sources and in the field of combined heat and power ("Ökostromgesetz"), BGBl. No 149/2002, as last amended by the Federal Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (BGBl). I n ° 10/2007, is amended as follows:

1. The title of the law is:

"Federal Law, with which new regulations in the field of electricity generation from renewable energy sources and in the field of combined heat and power generation are adopted (Ökostromgesetz-ÖSG)"

2. In the table of contents, the word order " § 11a. Raw material supplement for green electricity plants on the basis of liquid biomass or biogas " and the phrase " § 32c. Entry into force of the Ecoelectricity Act 2008 " at the right places.

3. (constitutional provision) § 1 reads:

" § 1. (constitutional provision) The dismissal, cancellation and enforcement of regulations, as contained in this Federal Act, are also in the matters of the Federal Republic, with regard to which the B-VG determines otherwise. The matters governed by these provisions may be directly provided by the bodies provided for in this Federal Law. "

4. In § 10a (1), third sentence, the word order shall be "15 MW" through the phrase "17 MW" replaced.

5. § 10a (4) reads:

" (4) The obligation to contract the green-current winding station in accordance with § 10 Z 4 shall consist of a newly commissioned green power plant only to the extent that the contractible feed-in tariff volume is not exceeded. If the amount of countervailable feed-in tariff available for the calendar year 2007 has not been exhausted, the underlying available support volume shall be reserved primarily for the financing of the raw material surcharge in accordance with Section 11a, irrespective of the respective dedication according to § 21b. If the available countervailable feed-in tariff is not used up in the following calendar years, the remaining support volumes per category shall be submitted to the next year. "

6. In accordance with § 11, the following § 11a including the heading is inserted:

" Raw material supplement for green power plants based on liquid biomass or biogas

§ 11a. (1) For the calendar year 2008, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Labour for Ecopower plants, which generate electrical energy on the basis of liquid biomass or biogas from renewable raw materials, has to comply with the regulations for raw materials . These surcharges shall be granted to the operators of these installations in addition to the prices determined by the Regulation in accordance with Section 11. The determination of the surcharges, if these are determined for several primary energy carriers, must be carried out separately for the positions of liquid biomass as well as substrate feedstocks for the biogas production. Excluded from the grant of a raw material surcharge

1.		Installations which shall be put into service after the entry into force of this provision,
2.		Mixing furnaces, hybrid systems and
3.		Installations for which there is no obligation to contract and pay the green-current winding site, or where this obligation is limited to the market price, less the cost of compensating energy.

(2) The level of the raw material supply shall be 4 cents/kWh for biogas plants and liquid biomass plants. The surcharges are to be determined in cents per kWh of green electricity produced and fed into the public grid in 2008 and to be paid out at the request of the green electricity system operator from the ecosystem (paragraph 1). 3). Applications must be submitted within 3 months of the entry into force of the Regulation to the Eco-current winding station. Extend the available funding (para. 5) shall not be subject to an aliquot reduction by the ecodeburmation site. This supplement shall not be granted from 2009.

(3) Operators of green electricity plants based on biogas and liquid biomass shall submit a raw material balance sheet to the green-current winding station by 30 June 2008 at the latest. This raw material balance has to include:

1.		Type and quantity of the raw material specified in each mega joule (MJ) energy content of the raw material used in 2007 (slurry, agricultural substances specified, for example, raw maize and wheat, green cut, others also specified)
2.		Origin of the respective raw material according to its supplier: indication of the percentage of the respective raw material produced by the operator of the green power plant itself, to what percentage of the respective raw material of one in the green power plant and to what percentage of the respective raw material is produced from a supplier that is not directly or indirectly involved in the green electricity system.
3.		In addition to this stock balance, the quantities of green electricity produced in the green electricity plant in 2007, the quantities of green electricity paid at supported prices (feed-in tariffs), and the quantities of electricity used for the operation of the green electricity system are (including any external current reference). The current level and nature of the use of heat, as well as the degree of fuel use determined from electricity generation and use of heat, are also to be stated. The possibilities and extent of future heat recovery are to be presented.
A copy of this raw material balance is to be transmitted to Energie-Control GmbH.

(4) The supply of raw materials in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be paid out by the green-current winding office in accordance with the available funds. The funding for financing has to be made from the funds available pursuant to § 10a (4) (2) sentence and section 32c (1). This appropriation is to be attributed to the additional annual support volume (§ 21a).

(5) For the raw material surcharge provided for in paragraph 2, an overall amount of up to € 20 million shall be allocated. The euro shall be available from those additional annual support volumes available on 30 June 2008 in accordance with § 21a. If these means cannot be found, an aliquot reduction in the raw material surcharges is to be made. "

Section 22b (4) reads as follows:

" (4) A balanced result between the additional costs to be expected in the following year on the one hand and the projected proceeds from the sale of green electricity in this period and the funds collected by the counting-point packages on the other hand on the other hand. Any difference amounts between the funds raised in a calendar year by the grant contributions and the additional expenses referred to in this period pursuant to § 21 shall be in balance in the following calendar year. The remaining part of the additional expenses of a financial year, which is not covered by revenue, shall be regarded as an asset in the annual accounts of the ecopower winding office and shall be subject to the increase in the amount of the additional income received in the future transfer price. 1. If the proceeds exceed the additional expenses of a calendar year, these surpluses shall be set as settlement liabilities in the balance sheet of the green-current winding office and shall be deducted from the balance sheet in the future transfer price. To offset the increase in the number of products. "

8. § 25 (1) reads:

" (1) At the latest by the end of June at the latest by the end of June, the Energie-Control GmbH has to submit a report to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Labour and the Electricity Advisory Board, which analyses the extent to which the objectives of the law have been achieved and which Changes in comparison with previous years have been made. The report provides detailed analyses of the extent and the cause of electricity consumption, complemented by policy options to reduce electricity consumption. The report may contain proposals to improve or adapt the funding mechanisms and other provisions of this law. In addition, the report is intended to cover the quantities and the costs of electrical energy from recognised plants based on solar, geothermal, wind, wave and tidal energy, biomass, high biogenic waste, landfill gas, sewage gas and biogas (Ecopower plants as well as hybrid and mixed combustion plants). "

9. (constitutional provision) Section 32b shall be inserted in the following § 32c together with the heading:

" Entry into force and transitional provisions of the Ecoelectricity Act of 2008

§ 32c. (constitutional provision) (1) The difference between € 20 million The euro (Section 11a (5)) and the amount of support remaining from the calendar year 2007 shall be allocated by the amount of support available for the calendar year 2008 for the categories of installations according to § 21b Z 1 and 2. This difference shall be used for the financing of the raw material surcharge in accordance with Section 11a. The remaining support volume remaining after deduction of this amount for the asset categories referred to in § 21b Z 1 and 2 shall be divided equally among these asset categories. For the other asset categories (§ 21b Z 3 and 4), the volume of support for the calendar year 2008 will remain at full height.

(2) The provisions of this amendment shall enter into force, with the exception of § § 1, 10a (4), 25 (1) and § 32c, according to the decision of the European Commission pursuant to Article 88 (3) of the EC Treaty. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Labour has published this date in the Federal Law Gazan.

(3) § § 1, 10a (4), 25 (1) and § 32c in the version of the Federal Law BGBl. I n ° 44/2008 enter into force with the day following the customer's presentation.

(4) The one between the 1. Jänner 2008 and the following day between the green-current winding station and the operators of green power plants pursuant to § 21b Z 1 and 2 on the basis of § 10a in conjunction with § 10 Z 4 concluded contracts are void and under application to complete the provisions of Section 10a. In this connection, the volume of feed-in tariff for these plants, which is relevant for the obligation to contract the green-current winding station, shall be redetermined using the first (1). "

Article 2

Amendment of the Income Tax Act 1988

The Income Tax Act 1988, BGBl. N ° 400/1988, as last amended by the Federal Law BGBl. N ° 100/2007, shall be amended as follows:

1. In § 33 the paragraph 9 reads as follows:

" (9) Is a pendler-lump sum according to § 16 (1) Z 6 lit. b or c, the percentage of 10% in accordance with paragraph 8 shall be increased to 15% and the amount not exceeding EUR 110 according to paragraph 8 shall be increased to a maximum of EUR 240 per annum (commuter supplement). "

2. In § 124b the Z 139 reads:

" 139. Section 33 (9) in the version of the Federal Law BGBl. I n ° 44/2008 is for the first time in the

Assessment of the calendar year 2008 and last for the apportionment for the calendar year 2009. "

Fischer

Gusenbauer