EU regulators approve €30bn scheme to reduce CO2 emissions

Competition regulators in Brussels approved a €30bn scheme on Monday that will support projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands.

The plan is expected to bring the EU closer to its environmental objectives without harming competition.

Known as Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie (SDE++), the scheme, will run until 2025, the European Commission said in the press release posted on Monday.

Aid will be allocated to beneficiaries through competitive bidding and they will also receive support via a variable premium contract up to 15 years.

Commission executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, said: “The €30bn Dutch SDE++ scheme will support projects that will lead to substantial reductions in greenhouse emissions, in line with the objectives of the EU Green Deal. It will provide important support to environmentally-friendly projects, including renewable energy, use of waste heat, hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage, in line with EU rules. Importantly, the wide eligibility criteria and the selection of the beneficiaries through a competitive bidding process will enable the most cost effective projects to be supported, reducing costs for taxpayers and minimising possible distortions of competition.”

The scheme will be open to projects based on renewable electricity, gas and heat, the use of industrial waste heat and heat pumps, the electrification of industrial heat processes and electrification of hydrogen production, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) for industrial processes, including hydrogen production and waste incineration.