Recent Amendments In Mining, Renewable Energy, Natural Gas Market, And Energy Efficiency Legislation

The Law Numbered 7501 on Amendments to the Mining Law and Some Other Laws ("Law") was published in the Official Gazette Numbered 32543 on May 11, 2024. This Law introduces significant changes to the Mining Law Numbered 3213, the Coastal Law Numbered 3621, the Natural Gas Market Law Numbered 4646, and the Energy Efficiency Law Numbered 5627, addressing the evolving needs over time.

The Law includes amendments and new regulations on the following topics:

• Amendments to the Mining Law No. 3213:
• • Amendment to Article 47: With the addition of "reports prepared by MTA without the requirement to prepare a report according to the UMREK Code" to Article 47 of the Mining Law, the obligation to report under the UMREK Code will continue only for Group IV minerals. The obligation has been lifted for Group I, II, III, and V minerals and for those minerals discovered during regular operations. Instead, optional reporting under the UMREK Code is allowed.
• Amendments to the Coastal Law No. 3621:
• • Change in Title of Article 6: The phrase "In the Sea" in the title of Article 6 of the Coastal Law has been amended as "In Water Areas."
  • New Regulation: With this amendment, it has been regulated that renewable energy generation plants can be established without a zoning plan in the areas of seas, reservoirs, artificial lakes and natural lakes declared as renewable energy resource areas by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, except for reservoirs and wetlands from which drinking-utilization water is supplied and wetlands and coasts and coastlines within the scope of this Law.
  • Hydraulic Resource-Based Facilities: It is regulated that legal entities holding pre-license or generation license based on hydraulic resources according to the Electricity Market Law No. 6446 can establish multi-source generation plants based on renewable energy resources without a zoning plan in reservoirs and wetlands where drinking and utility water is supplied and in dam lakes, artificial lakes and natural lakes, except for the coasts and coastlines within the scope of this Law.
• Amendments to the Natural Gas Market Law No. 4646:
• • Addition to Article 3: With the addition made to Article 3 of the Natural Gas Market Law, the activity of liquefaction of natural gas was added to the law and defined as the liquefaction of domestically produced and/or imported natural gas for the purpose of export abroad or resale within the country.
  • License Requirement: In addition, legal entities that will operate liquefaction facilities to be established for the purpose of liquefaction of natural gas for export abroad or resale in the country are obliged to obtain a license from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority.
• Amendments to the Law No. 5346 on the Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources for Electricity Generation:
• • Amendment to Article 4: With the amendment to Article 4 of the Law on the Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources for Electricity Generation, it is stated that the procedures and principles regarding the competition will be determined by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in the relevant competition specifications and the price and/or price resulting from the competition will be evaluated within the scope of the YEK Support Mechanism for the period to be determined in the competition specifications.
  • Amendment to Article 6: With the amendment made in Article 6, if the current YEKDEM (Renewable Energy Support Mechanism) price for the relevant facility type exceeds the updated YEKDEM price, the difference will be paid as a contribution to YEKDEM.
• Amendments to the Energy Efficiency Law No. 5627:
• • Amendment to Article 3: With the addition made to Article 3 of the Energy Efficiency Law, the definition of the applicant was changed, and the sectoral restriction was removed.
  • New Definitions: Furthermore, with the related amendment, carbon intensity is defined as the amount of carbon dioxide emission per unit product and/or area, or similar and specific energy consumption is defined as the amount of energy consumed per unit product and/or area or similar.
  • Amendment to Article 7: In addition, pursuant to the amendment to Article 7, the support amounts for energy efficiency projects have been updated. Projects prepared to increase energy efficiency will be supported up to 30% of their costs by the Ministry, with a maximum of TRY 15 million. This support will be provided as a grant or interest support and will be increased at the beginning of each calendar year.
• Amendments to the Electricity Market Law No. 6446:
• • Addition to Article 9: In Article 9 of the Electricity Market Law, an addition has been made regarding the places where a state of emergency decision has been taken or accepted as a disaster zone affecting general life, and it is stated that temporary electrical energy demands can be met within the framework of the procedures and principles determined by the decision of the Energy Market Regulatory Board in order to meet the electricity services in these places without interruption.
  • Temporary Article on Licenses: A temporary article has been added to the Law regarding the right to terminate and amend licenses and preliminary licenses. Accordingly, it is stated that, except for the ones that have been entitled due to the contracts signed as a result of the energy resource areas competitions, the legal entities that wish to terminate their production licenses, preliminary licenses, license applications existing within the scope of this Law before the effective date of this article, or to modify them by reducing the installed power, if they apply to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority within 2 months following the effective date of this article, their licenses, preliminary licenses, license applications will be terminated or modified and the guarantees submitted to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority will be partially or completely returned according to their interest.
• Amendments to the Nuclear Regulation Law No. 7381:
• • Addition to Article 14: Pursuant to the paragraph added to Article 14 of the Nuclear Regulation Law, it is regulated that the operator may transfer the obligation to take out insurance or provide security for the carriage of nuclear materials to the carrier, provided that the Authority approves, with the explicit provisions to be included in the written contract to be concluded with the carrier that the carrier's request and the operator's consent are present, and in this case, the carrier that transfers the obligation will be liable as the operator.
• Effective Date:
• • The regulations mentioned above entered into force on the publication date of the Law.

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