Energy
Clean energy tech receives €2bn boost from European Investment Bank
Renewable energy and carbon capture projects across Europe are set to benefit from more than €2 billion (£1.64 billion) that the European Investment Bank has made available in funding.
The bank states that the money has been raised by the sale of 300m emission allowances under the NER 300 scheme, which gives purchasers the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide.
The programme is one of the largest funders of clean energy projects with a total of €458m (£377m) being raised during the second phase with the bank receiving 33 project applications. The first phase, which ended in September 2012, raised more than €1.5 billion (£1.24 billion) with 23 projects being awarded funding.
Jonathan Taylor, vice-president of the European Investment Bank, said, “The European Investment Bank is pleased to support further investment in low-carbon demonstration projects. Successful completion of monetisation of carbon allowances under the NER300 scheme will help both carbon capture schemes and innovative renewable energy projects across Europe reach a commercial scale.”
Now that the full volume of the NER 300 initiative has been reached no further sales will be announced. The final projects to be successfully awarded funding will be disclosed later this year.
The publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report highlights how important it is that the renewable and carbon capture sector receives finance. The report warned of the effects if the world fails to tackle climate change and called for a trillion-dollar shift in investment.
According to a coalition of business and government leaders, the report means that cleantech is now “an attractive proposition for any investor”. Consultancy firm McKinsey has also noticed the trend and added that the sector was gathering pace with “less and less regulatory assistance”.
Photo: gc85 via Freeimages
Further reading:
Davey unveils £20m Scottish carbon capture and storage investment
Leaked IPCC report suggests extracting carbon to fight climate change
UK and EU need massive renewable push to meet 2030 carbon targets