Fee approves €900 million French State help scheme to assist the manufacturing of power and gas from biomass and renewable hydrogen to foster the transition to a net-zero financial system.
The European Fee has accepted a €900 million French scheme to assist firms investing in using biomass and renewable hydrogen in power and gas manufacturing, to foster the transition in direction of a net-zero financial system consistent with the Inexperienced Deal Industrial Plan.
The scheme was accepted beneath the State help Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework, adopted by the Fee on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023, to assist measures in sectors that are key to speed up the inexperienced transition and scale back gas dependencies.
The French measure
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France notified to the Fee, beneath the Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework, a €900 million scheme to assist the manufacturing of (i) warmth and fuels from biomass, equivalent to artificial gasoline and biochar, to be used in industrial processes, and (ii) liquid fuels from biomass and renewable hydrogen, to be used in industrial processes and transport.
Beneath this measure, the help will take the type of direct grants, masking a part of the eligible funding prices.
The measure might be open to new installations and initiatives which can be considerably accelerated or scaled up. Tasks should be accomplished and put in operation inside 36 months from the granting of the help.
The Fee discovered that the French scheme is consistent with the circumstances set out within the Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework. Specifically, the help (i) will incentivise the manufacturing of power and gas from renewable sources; (ii) is not going to exceed the utmost help depth allowed; and (iii) might be granted no later than 31 December 2025.
The Fee concluded that the French scheme is important, applicable and proportionate to speed up the inexperienced transition and facilitate the event of sure financial actions, that are of significance for the implementation of REPowerEU Plan and the Inexperienced Deal Industrial Plan, consistent with Article 107(3)(c) TFEU and the circumstances set out within the Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework.
On this foundation, the Fee accepted the help measure beneath EU State help guidelines.
Background
On 9 March 2023, the Fee adopted a brand new Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework to foster assist measures in sectors that are key for the transition to a net-zero financial system, consistent with the Inexperienced Deal Industrial Plan. The Framework amends and prolongs partially the Short-term Disaster Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022, to allow Member States to make use of the pliability foreseen beneath State help guidelines to assist the financial system within the context of Russia’s conflict in opposition to Ukraine.
The Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework has been amended on 20 November 2023 to lengthen by six months a restricted variety of sections aimed toward offering a disaster response following Russia’s aggression in opposition to Ukraine and the unprecedented improve in power costs.
The Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework, as amended, gives for the next sorts of help, which will be granted by Member States:
- Restricted quantities of help (part 2.1), in any type and granted till 30 June 2024, for firms affected by the present disaster or by the next sanctions and countersanctions as much as €280,000 and €335,000 within the agriculture, and fisheries and aquaculture sectors respectively, and as much as €2.25 million in all different sectors;
- Liquidity assist in type of State ensures and subsidised loans (sections 2.2 and a pair of.3). In distinctive instances and topic to strict safeguards, Member States could present to power utilities for his or her buying and selling actions public ensures exceeding 90% protection, the place they’re supplied as unfunded monetary collateral to central counterparties or clearing members. These sections are relevant solely till 31 December 2023 and haven’t been amended;
- Assist to compensate for prime power costs (part 2.4). The help, which will be granted in any type in precept till June 2024, will partially compensate firms, particularly intensive power customers, for extra prices as a result of exceptionalgas and electricityprice will increase. The person help quantity could also be calculated based mostly on both previous or current consumption, making an allowance for the necessity to preserve market incentives to cut back power consumption and to make sure the continuity of financial actions. As well as, Member States could present assist flexibly, together with to notably affected energy-intensive sectors, topic to safeguards to keep away from overcompensation and to incentivise the discount of the carbon footprint in case of help quantities above €50 million. Member States are additionally invited to think about, in a non-discriminatory manner, organising necessities associated to environmental safety or safety of provide. Additional particulars on the assist prospects for prime power costs, together with on the methodology to calculate particular person help quantities, can be found right here;
- Measures accelerating the rollout of renewable power (part 2.5). Member States can arrange schemes for investments in all renewable power sources, together with renewable hydrogen, biogas and biomethane, storage and renewable warmth, together with via warmth pumps, with simplified tender procedures that may be shortly applied, whereas together with ample safeguards to guard the extent taking part in area. Specifically, Member States can devise schemes for a selected expertise, requiring assist in view of the actual nationwide power combine. The circumstances for the granting of help to small initiatives and fewer mature applied sciences, equivalent to renewable hydrogen, have been simplified by lifting the necessity for a aggressive bidding course of, topic to sure safeguards. Beneath such schemes, help could also be granted till 31 December 2025; after that date, the standard State help guidelines will proceed to use, together with particularly the corresponding provisions of the Local weather, Vitality and Environmental Assist Tips (CEEAG);
- Measures facilitating the decarbonisation of business processes (part 2.6). To additional speed up the diversification of power provides, Member States can assist investments to phase-out from fossil fuels, particularly via electrification, power effectivity and the change to using renewable and electricity-based hydrogen which complies with sure circumstances, with expanded prospects to assist the decarbonisation of business processes switching to hydrogen-derived fuels. Member States can both (i) arrange new tender-based schemes, or (ii) immediately assist initiatives, with out tenders, with sure limits on the share of public assist per funding. Particular top-up bonuses are foreseen for small and medium-sized enterprises in addition to for notably power environment friendly options. Within the absence of tenders, an extra less complicated methodology has been launched to find out the extent of most assist. Beneath such schemes, help could also be granted till 31 December 2025; after that date, the standard State help guidelines will proceed to use, together with particularly the corresponding provisions of the CEEAG;
- Measures aimed toward supporting electrical energy demand discount (part 2.7), consistent with the Regulation on an emergency intervention to deal with excessive power costs, till 31 December 2023;
- Measures to additional speed up investments in key sectors for the transition in direction of a net-zero financial system (part 2.8), enabling funding assist for the manufacturing of strategic gear, specifically batteries, photo voltaic panels, wind generators, heat-pumps, electrolysers and carbon seize utilization and storage in addition to for manufacturing of key parts and for manufacturing and recycling of associated important uncooked supplies. Extra particularly, Member States could till 31 December 2025 design easy and efficient schemes, offering assist capped at a sure share of the funding prices as much as particular nominal quantities, relying on the situation of the funding and the scale of the beneficiary, with increased assist attainable for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’) in addition to firms situated in deprived areas, to make sure that cohesion goals are duly taken into consideration. Moreover, in distinctive instances, Member States could present increased assist to particular person firms, the place there’s a actual threat of investments being diverted away from Europe, topic to quite a lot of safeguards. Extra info on the assist prospects for measures to speed up the transition to a net-zero financial system will be discovered right here.
Sanctioned Russian, Belarussian and Iranian entities in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine are excluded from the scope of those measures.
The Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework enhances the ample prospects for Member States to design measures consistent with present EU State help guidelines. For instance, EU State help guidelines allow Member States to assist firms deal with liquidity shortages and needing pressing rescue help. Moreover, Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union allows Member States to compensate firms for the injury immediately brought on by an distinctive prevalence, equivalent to these brought on by the present disaster.
The non-confidential model of the choice might be made obtainable beneath the case quantity SA.109766 within the State help register on the Fee’s competitors web site as soon as any confidentiality points have been resolved. New publications of State help choices on the web and within the Official Journal are listed within the Competitors Weekly e-Information.
Extra info on the Short-term Disaster and Transition Framework and different actions taken by the Fee to deal with the financial influence of Russia’s conflict in opposition to Ukraine and foster the transition in direction of a net-zero financial system will be discovered right here.
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Fee approves €900 million French State help scheme to assist the manufacturing of power and gas from biomass and renewable hydrogen to foster the transition to a net-zero financial system, March 27, 2024
