The European Commission approves support scheme for advanced biofuels in Italy
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Last week, the European Commission approved
under EU State aid rules an Italian support scheme for the production and
distribution of advanced biofuels, including advanced biomethane (see press release IP/18/1441, 1/3/2018).
Key points:
Scope
|
It supports
the production and distribution of advanced biofuels for use in the transport
sector.
|
Indicative
budget
|
4,700 M€.
The
scheme will be financed by transport fuel retailers who are obliged by law to
include a certain percentage of advanced biofuels and biomethane in their
fuel blends.
|
Duration
|
From 2018
until 2022.
|
Guidelines
|
- Producers of advanced biofuels will receive
a premium which allows them to compensate for higher production costs than
fossil fuels and compete with them in the transport sector.
- The premium can be increased if producers
also make investments to improve the distribution and liquefaction of
advanced biomethane.
- The scheme will also incentivise farmers to
produce biofuel and biomethane from manure and other residues originating
from their farming activities and use them in turn to power their
agricultural machines and vehicles.
- The level of the premium will be updated
each year in relation to the production costs to ensure that producers are
not overcompensated.
|
The Commission has concluded that the measure
will help Italy reach its 2020 target for the use of renewable energy in transport,
fight climate change and replace fossil fuels in the transport sector, while at
the same time limiting distortions of competition, in line with the
Commission's 2014 Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and
energy. The Guidelines allow Member States to support advanced biofuels under
certain conditions. As part of the EU 2020 strategy, the Renewable Energy
Directive requires all Member States to ensure that at least 10% of all energy
consumed in transport come from renewable sources by 2020.
The non-confidential version of this decision will be made available under the case number SA.48424 in the State Aid Register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
The non-confidential version of this decision will be made available under the case number SA.48424 in the State Aid Register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.