On Friday 6 November, the European Commission authorised €150 million in Romanian support for the modernisation of district heating systems in the country based exclusively on Renewable Energy Sources.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for competition policy, said that the aid will facilitate the shift from fossil fuel energy production to heat generation based on renewable resources, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The envisaged support would take the form of direct grants financed by EU structural funds managed by Romania.
The measure aims to support investments in district heating installations up to a total of 60 MW thermal equivalent, in order to switch energy production for heating from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas) to renewable energy sources (biogas, biomass, etc.) exclusively. This is expected to result in an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 48,000 metric tonnes of CO2, as well as other polluting substances, over the period of application of the scheme (until 2023).
EU state aid rules allow Member States to support production plants and distribution networks for district heating, subject to certain conditions (Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)