European Commission approves 401 mln euros scheme to promote green district heating in Czechia
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a 401 million euro Czech scheme to promote green district heating based on renewable energy and waste heat. The measure will contribute to the implementation of Czechia‘s National Energy and Climate Plan and to the EU’s strategic objectives relating to the European Green Deal.
The scheme will support the installation of new renewable heat generation units based on biomass and waste with a capacity above 500 kilowatts (kW). The scheme will be open to owners of heat generation installations holding a heat energy production licence and producing heat from biomass, or waste that is considered a renewable energy source within the meaning of the Renewable Energy Directive.
In the case of heat generation based on waste, projects are required to respect the waste hierarchy principle in order to be eligible. Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of a green bonus to heat generators for each gigajoule of heat supplied to the heat distribution system.
The scheme is expected to support the installation of approximately 345 MWt of renewable heat generation capacity.