The European Commission killed two birds with one stone on Friday 26 August, when it approved Luxembourg and Maltese plans to support the production of electricity from renewable sources.
The Luxembourg plan, which was notified in September 2015, brings in premium payments to support operators of wind, solar, biogas, hydropower and biomass installations, for a total budget in the region of €150 million, allocated between 2016 and 2020. The Grand Duchy already had a support regime in place and the new measure modifies and extends the previous scheme, which expired at the end of 2015.
In December 2015, Malta notified its plans to support operators of solar photovoltaic and onshore wind installations. The aid will be granted in the form of premiums on top of market prices. The projects state that onshore wind developers can also tender for support if an eligible site receives development consent during the lifetime of the scheme. The total budget of the measure will be approximately €140 million, allocated up to 2020.
The Commission found that the measures will encourage the deployment of renewable electricity installations and helped Luxembourg and Malta achieve their 2020 renewable energy targets. Under the Directive on renewable energy, Luxembourg has a renewables target of 11% of gross electricity consumption by 2020. Malta's renewables target is 10% of gross electricity consumed by 2020. By the end of 2014, Malta had achieved a 4% renewables share. This new measure aims to help it to achieve the remaining 6%. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)