Released July 14, 2014 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Commission (E.C.) has awarded 1 billion euros (US$1.36 billion) in funding to 19 renewable energy and climate change projects across the region.
The second round of funding from the New Entrants Reserve 300 (NER300) funding program, comes from the price companies have to pay for carbon allowances, to cover the pollution from their plants or power stations. The allowances are sold under the European Union's (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS), which is the world's largest carbon cap-and-trade program and the only mechanism in the EU for monitoring and tracking carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It covers more than 11,500 power stations, factories and refineries in 30 countries, which are responsible for around half of the EU's emissions.
The 19 projects awarded co-financing by the E.C. cover a range of technologies, including bioenergy, concentrated solar power (CSP), geothermal power, photovoltaics (PV), wind power, ocean energy, smart grids and, for the first time, carbon capture and storage (CCS). Almost a third of the 1 billion euros in funding went to the White Rose CCS project, located at the U.K.'s largest coal-fired power station, the Drax plant near Selby in North Yorkshire. The proposed 426-megawatt (MW) power plant will be fully equipped with CCS technology that will capture 90% of all CO2 produced before transporting it by pipeline for permanent offshore storage under the North Sea seabed.
"With these first-of-a-kind projects, we will help protect the climate and make Europe less energy dependent," said Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action. "The 1 billion euros we are awarding today will leverage some additional 900 million euros of private investment. So that is almost 2 billion euros of investment in climate-friendly technologies here in Europe. This is a contribution to reducing Europe's energy bill of more than 1 billion euros per day that we pay for our imported fossil fuels."
The supported projects are expected to increase the annual EU renewable energy production by almost eight terawatt hours (TWh)--the combined annual electricity consumption of Cyprus and Malta. The CCS project will capture 1.8 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to taking more than a million cars off the roads, the E.C. claimed.
Other projects supported include the first NER300 "trans-boundary project," which aims to build a geothermal plant across the French-German border near Strasbourg to produce electricity and heat. Support was also awarded to Croatia--the newest EU member state--to build a geothermal power plant, and for the first NER300-funded CSP project in Portugal.
The NER300 fund was established in late 2011 but the amount raised has fallen significantly short of its original target. It was expected to raise 4.5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) but has shrunk considerably since then as a result of plummeting carbon prices. However, it is still the largest global fund for "clean coal" and renewable energy projects. For additional information, see November 10, 2011, article - Europe's Carbon Capture Fund Shrinking.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The second round of funding from the New Entrants Reserve 300 (NER300) funding program, comes from the price companies have to pay for carbon allowances, to cover the pollution from their plants or power stations. The allowances are sold under the European Union's (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS), which is the world's largest carbon cap-and-trade program and the only mechanism in the EU for monitoring and tracking carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It covers more than 11,500 power stations, factories and refineries in 30 countries, which are responsible for around half of the EU's emissions.
The 19 projects awarded co-financing by the E.C. cover a range of technologies, including bioenergy, concentrated solar power (CSP), geothermal power, photovoltaics (PV), wind power, ocean energy, smart grids and, for the first time, carbon capture and storage (CCS). Almost a third of the 1 billion euros in funding went to the White Rose CCS project, located at the U.K.'s largest coal-fired power station, the Drax plant near Selby in North Yorkshire. The proposed 426-megawatt (MW) power plant will be fully equipped with CCS technology that will capture 90% of all CO2 produced before transporting it by pipeline for permanent offshore storage under the North Sea seabed.
"With these first-of-a-kind projects, we will help protect the climate and make Europe less energy dependent," said Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action. "The 1 billion euros we are awarding today will leverage some additional 900 million euros of private investment. So that is almost 2 billion euros of investment in climate-friendly technologies here in Europe. This is a contribution to reducing Europe's energy bill of more than 1 billion euros per day that we pay for our imported fossil fuels."
The supported projects are expected to increase the annual EU renewable energy production by almost eight terawatt hours (TWh)--the combined annual electricity consumption of Cyprus and Malta. The CCS project will capture 1.8 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to taking more than a million cars off the roads, the E.C. claimed.
Other projects supported include the first NER300 "trans-boundary project," which aims to build a geothermal plant across the French-German border near Strasbourg to produce electricity and heat. Support was also awarded to Croatia--the newest EU member state--to build a geothermal power plant, and for the first NER300-funded CSP project in Portugal.
The NER300 fund was established in late 2011 but the amount raised has fallen significantly short of its original target. It was expected to raise 4.5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) but has shrunk considerably since then as a result of plummeting carbon prices. However, it is still the largest global fund for "clean coal" and renewable energy projects. For additional information, see November 10, 2011, article - Europe's Carbon Capture Fund Shrinking.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
