EC: €7,9 B increase approval to German State aid for biomass and biogas electricity production

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an amendment to an existing German renewable energy scheme, the EEG ( “Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz”)2023 support scheme, funded with an overall budget of €28 billion, that had been approved in December 2022.

The amendment will increase the budget of the biomass and biogas support scheme by €7.9 billion.
The amendment will increase the tender volume, introduce a dedicated quota for biomass installations with an existing connection to a heating network and limit hours of electricity production from biogas eligible for support. It will also reduce the timeframe for old installations to switch to the new support for biomass and increase the payment for flexible electricity production.

The EEG 2023 support scheme, with an overall budget of €28 billion, aims at achieving a share of 80% of electricity produced from renewable energy sources by 2030, with a view to achieving climate neutrality by 2045.

The Commission assessed the amendments under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, which allows Member States to support the development of…