28 May 2024
The European Commission has approved a €3.2 billion scheme to support the production of electricity from new and modernised high-efficiency cogeneration plants in the Czech Republic. The new scheme will contribute to the implementation of Czechia’s National Energy and Climate Plan, the European Green Deal and the EU’s energy efficiency targets. It is expected to deliver reductions in CO2 emissions amounting to around 9.3 million tonnes per year.
Under the new scheme, support will be available for new or modernised CHP* installations that meet the definition of high-efficiency cogeneration as set out in the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive. All technologies and projects that enable the production of electricity from high-efficiency CHP installations are eligible, except for those powered by solid fossil fuels, diesel and oil. Projects involving natural gas will be required to switch to renewable and low-carbon gases by 2050.
The European Commission has assessed the Czech scheme under EU State Aid rules. It concluded that: “The scheme is necessary and appropriate to increase energy efficiency and accelerate the green transition”.
According to the Commission: “The scheme will support decarbonisation in Czechia, in particular increasing energy efficiency through production of electricity in high-efficiency CHP plants, in line with the European Green Deal, without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.”
The European Commission’s decision to approve the Czech CHP support scheme has been welcomed by COGEN Europe. The association’s Managing Director, Hans Korteweg, says: “This is an excellent scheme that will support the expansion of high efficiency cogeneration in the Czech Republic, thereby reducing CO2 emissions and providing households and businesses with reliable and affordable supplies of electricity and heat. We hope that other EU countries will follow this example and introduce similar schemes to deliver on the objectives of the European Green Deal.”
* CHP or ‘Combined Heat and Power’ is another name for cogeneration.
Further information
Commission approves €3.2 billion Czech State aid scheme to support high-efficiency combined heat and power generation (Press Release – European Commission – 27 May 2024)