Renewables set to get bulk of NER300 funding

It had the potential to be a battle, but in the end renewable energy projects look set to receive the lion’s share of €1,500 million of EU funding set aside for renewables and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

At least €1,210 million of the total should go to 23 renewables projects, including six wind energy proposals, according to a draft decision submitted to the EU’s Climate Change Committee meeting on 13 December. Originally, most of the money was supposed to go to CCS projects, but most projects failed to secure the necessary permits or additional Member State funding.

“This process shows that investment in wind and renewable energy is a good use of public money; by financing wind and renewable energy, the EU gets a real return on investment in terms of green growth, new jobs and a world-leading industry”, commented Stephane Bourgeois, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

The money comes from the NER300 scheme, which is financed by the sale of 300 million emissions allowances from the EU’s Emissions Trading System.

By Sarah Aza, http://www.ewea.org/blog