Brussels, 14/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - With 24 projects financed in energy efficiency, renewable energies, smart grids and interconnections, the strong arm of the investment plan for Europe, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), has allocated the energy sector 29% of EIB approved financing. The Juncker Plan is successfully building the Energy Union, the European Commission stated at the launch of the 2016 Sustainable Energy Week on Tuesday 14 June.
Through support for an innovation project for buildings in France, the construction of a wind park in Sweden and the installation of smart meters in the United Kingdom, 11 member states have benefited from support for sustainable energy projects in line with the EU's climate energy targets, the Commission states.
All this comes on top of the action taken to raise investment for SMEs, particularly by way of the European Investment Fund (EIF), which has channelled €3.5 billion to 185 financing agreements for SMEs in the energy sector, the Commission adds.
In total, operations in the sustainable energy sector are expected to have a knock-on effect that attracts additional investment worth more than €16.9 billion in the next few years, the Commission adds.
“The ambition to create an Energy Union is a priority for the Juncker Commission. The money we save on oil and gas imports and at the pump creates room for manoeuvre for intelligent, forward-looking investments in energy efficiency, renewables, innovation and modern energy infrastructure, all key objectives of the Energy Union. It also provides a window of opportunity to reduce and phase out fossil fuel subsidies”, said Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)