Renewable energy projects receive €1.2 billion boost from European Commission

The European Commission dispersed over €1.2 billion this week in grants to 23 innovative renewable energy projects as the Commission seeks to support the development of clean technologies in the European Union.

It is estimated that the funding will contribute up to 50 per cent of the projects’ costs, with the outstanding costs to be covered by private investments and further national funding.

The funds have been sourced from revenues obtained from the sale of 200 million emissions allowances from the reserve of the E.U. Emissions Trading System.

Projects benefiting from the investments include a diverse range of renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind power, bioenergy, geothermal power and smart grids.

The projects combined, once completed, are expected to increase the annual renewable energy production in Europe by approximately 10 terawatt hours, or an amount equivalent to the yearly fuel consumption of over one million cars.

The construction process of projects over the next three to four years will also provide thousands of full-time jobs. When operational, around a thousand full-time workers will be employed at the installations over the next two decades.

The programme, which is run jointly by the EC and the European Investment Bank, will be made on a yearly basis, depending on performance.