CERRE Research Fellow, Catherine Banet, discussed the revision of the EU’s State aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy (EEAG) with pv magazine, a trade publication for the international photovoltaics (PV) community, in an article titled “State aid key for green hydrogen”.
The EEAG were adopted in 2014 as part of the European Commission’s modernisation agenda. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the guidelines have been extended to the end of 2021 but they are currently being revised by the Commission. According to Professor Banet, author of the CERRE report “State aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy (EEAG): review process, possible changes and opportunities”, the guidelines no longer reflect the reality of the energy market and need to be carefully revised.
“With ambitious emissions reductions targets in place for 2030, the European Union is expected to allow for fairly generous national subsidies and state aid schemes to support emerging technologies such as renewable hydrogen.” – Andreas Walstad, pv magazine
Quoting Professor Banet on several occasions, the pv magazine article explores the extent to which hydrogen and energy storage could be supported by the revision of the guidelines in 2021, along with the controversial technology-neutral approach.
With the EU’s ambitious objective of climate neutrality in mind, Catherine Banet’s CERRE report provided recommendations for new rules that could fast-track the transition to low carbon energy systems in a cost-efficient way whilst aligning with the 2030 climate targets. The report outcomes and recommendations were presented during a CERRE webinar in September 2020, “The future of EEAG in times of the EU Green Deal: continuity or disruption?”, ahead of the deadline for the stakeholder consultation on the European Commission’s new framework.
Read the full pv magazine article on their website.
