On Wednesday 28 January, the European Commission authorised a Spanish scheme worth €3.1 billion over ten years to support the production of electricity from new or substantially refurbished highly efficient combined heat and power plants, under the ‘CEEAG’ guidelines on State aid for climate and energy, applicable since 2022 (see EUROPE 12858/2).
Support will be available to operators of new or substantially renovated cogeneration installations that meet the definition of high-efficiency cogeneration set out in the Energy Efficiency Directive (2023/1791). These cogeneration plants will be fuelled by natural gas (condition: use at least 10% by volume of renewable hydrogen), bioliquids and solid biomass.
Financial assistance will take the form of a remuneration for: investments, in this case fixed by means of competitive auctions; and/or operations – and it will be calculated and updated every quarter based on market variables (electricity prices, fuel costs and the price of CO2).
According to the Commission, the Spanish scheme stimulates decarbonisation in Spain, has an incentive effect on investment in high-efficiency combined heat and power generation and is proportionate, being limited to the minimum necessary. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)