Romania allots EUR 100 mln for biomass, biogas energy projects

The Romanian authorities plan to allocate over EUR 100 million for a state aid scheme aimed at supporting energy production from renewable sources that are less exploited, namely biomass, biogas, geothermal, reads a draft project, published on the website of the EU Funds Ministry. The money comes from non-reimbursable EU funds provided through the European Regional Development Fund, but also from the state budget, reports local Economica.net. The authorities plan to allocate over EUR 20.1 million for 2017, some EUR 30.1 million for 2018, and EUR 40.2 million for 2019 for this support scheme. The amount for 2020 totals EUR 10 million. The maximum amount granted to a beneficiary can’t exceed EUR 15 million and the state aid can’t exceed 45% of the eligible costs. The document states that Romania depends less on the imports of energy (22.7% in 2012) than the EU average (53.4%). This is due to the measures aimed at promoting energy efficiency and boosting energy production from renewable sources. editor@romania-insider.com