European Commission approves Polish renewable energy scheme
Published by Oliver Kleinschmidt,
Assistant Editor
Energy Global,
The European Commission has approved a €1.2 billion Polish scheme to support investments in electricity storage facilities to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.
Poland notified to the European Commission, under the TCTF, a €1.2 billion scheme to support the installation of at least 5.4 GWh of new electricity storage facilities to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The scheme will be financed partly by the Modernisation Fund, and partly by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) following the Commission's positive assessment of Poland's Recovery and Resilience Plan and its adoption by the Council.
The scheme aims at reducing the reliance of the Polish electricity system on fossil fuels and at facilitating the smooth integration of variable renewable energy sources in the national electricity system, by supporting the construction of electricity storage facilities. The scheme will support only newly installed storage facilities with a capacity of at least 4 MWh. The supported facilities will be connected to the distribution or transmission networks at all voltage levels. The projects will be selected by the Member State through a call for proposals.
Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of two cumulative support forms: direct grants and loans. The total aid amount of grant and loans combined shall not exceed 45% of the investment costs of the supported project, and may be increased to 65% for aid to small companies, and to 55% for aid to medium-sized companies.
The Commission found that the Polish scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the TCTF. In particular, the aid will be granted on the basis of a scheme with an estimated volume and budget; the aid is administratively set by the Member State on the basis of data on the investment cost of each supported project; and the aid will be granted before 31 December 2025.
The Commission concluded that the Polish scheme is necessary, appropriate, and proportionate to accelerate the green transition and facilitate the development of certain economic activities, which are of importance for the implementation of the REPowerEU Plan and the Green Deal Industrial Plan, in line with Article 107(3)(c) Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the conditions set out in the TCTF.
On this basis, the Commission approved the aid measure under EU State aid rules.
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/04102024/european-commission-approves-polish-renewable-energy-scheme/
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