On Friday 21 April, the European Commission announced that it had approved a Czech state aid scheme worth €401 million to support the decarbonisation of a district heating system.
The new production units connected to the district heating systems will be powered by renewable energy and heat produced from biomass and waste.
The aid will be distributed as a premium to heat producers for each gigajoule of heat supplied to the heat distribution system.
The Commission found the scheme to be in line with EU state aid rules, in particular with Article 107 Para. 3c of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows Member States, under certain conditions, to support the development of certain economic activities, and with the 2022 guidelines on state aid for climate, environmental protection and energy.
The Commission considered that the aid would contribute to the implementation of the Czech national energy and climate plan.
The aid scheme will apply until 31 December 2024. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)