State Aid

The Italian Government intends to introduce a new aid initiative that supports electricity production from sources such as solar and onshore wind

The government intends to introduce the new aid scheme in May to support renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower

Operators of the combined heat and power plants will receive a premium on top of the market price

It comes up to just under £38m out of the total reductions between 2013 to 2015

The Commission said the network charges exemption given in 2012/13 was against state aid rules

The European Commission has launched an investigation to assess Spain’s “environmental incentive” for coal power plants. The Commission is concerned the support has been used to meet EU environmental standards that were in any case mandatory. In 2007, Spain introduced a scheme to support the installation of new filters in existing coal plants to reduce […]

The EU Commission has approved a new joint capacity mechanism for Ireland and Northern Ireland’s energy markets. The move was judged to be able to help ensure security of electricity supply whilst preserving competition and complying with EU state aid rules. Under the capacity mechanism, power plants and other capacity providers will obtain a payment […]

The EU has approved plans for a network of refuelling and recharging stations for low emission vehicles in the Czech Republic after finding they are in line with state aid rules. It judged the €44.5 million (£40.7m) support scheme would contribute to reducing emissions without unduly distorting competition. Running over six years, the national programme […]

The European Commission has approved Danish state aid worth DKK57 million (£6.74m) to convert a cogeneration plant from coal to biomass. DONG Energy Thermal Power’s new unit in Kalundborg will supply renewable electricity to the grid, district heating to Kalundborg Forsyning and steam to the industry. The project is expected to contribute to the long […]

The EU has approved three French state aid schemes to produce more than 17GW of renewable energy. The measures to support the small scale onshore wind, solar and sewage gas installations were judged to make a worthwhile contribution to France’s 2020 target of producing 23% of its energy needs from renewables. The €1 billion-a-year (£850m) onshore wind scheme will grant support […]