The European Commission authorised, on Wednesday 16 December, the modification of the existing aid scheme for the production of electricity from renewable sources and cogeneration in Estonia. The measure will help Estonia to meet its renewable energy targets and contribute to the new EU objective of climate neutrality by 2050, without unduly distorting competition.
The existing scheme was approved by the Commission in December 2017 and was due to expire at the end of 2020.
The new amended scheme, with a budget of approximately €450 million, will be applicable for 10 years from the date of this decision.
Renewable energy installations benefiting from the scheme will receive support in the form of a premium on top of the electricity market price. The premium will be set through a competitive bidding process and cannot be higher than the difference between the average production cost for each renewable technology and the electricity market price.
The amended scheme will allow Estonia to organise multi-technology tenders. Objective: to encourage a switch from fossil fuels to renewable fuels, which will help reduce emissions from CO₂.
For the Commission, the aid is necessary and has an incentive effect, since electricity prices do not fully cover the costs of generating electricity from renewable energy sources. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)