The European Commission approved, on Tuesday 19 May, a €550 million State Aid scheme to support the production of electricity in existing and depreciated biomass installations in Denmark.
The installations benefitting from the scheme will receive support in the form of a premium covering the additional operating costs of producing electricity from biomass compared to producing electricity from a coal plant.
The premium will be calculated on an annual basis and will be capped at approximately 0.015 €/kWh. The scheme will be in place until 31 December 2029.
The Commission assessed the Danish measure under the 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for environmental protection and energy for the period 2014-2020.
The Commission found that the scheme was “necessary to prevent the switch of the supported installations to fossil fuels”. It also found that the scheme will help Denmark to reach its target of 55% of electricity production from renewable energy by 2030 and its objective of phasing out coal from its electricity production in the same year.
The Commission concluded that the scheme will contribute to achieving the EU's energy and environmental objectives. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)