In order to promote the production and distribution of thermal energy in a centralized system, from less exploited renewable sources, namely biomass, biogas, geothermal energy, the Romanian Ministry of European Funds approved the state aid scheme to support investments.
According to the Ministry, the budget allocated to the state aid scheme is of 150 million euro, of which 85 % represent European funds, and the remaining 15 % are financed from the state budget. The state aid scheme was approved by the Competition Council and by the European Commission. However, the program’s budget could be increased up to 1800 million euros without further approval from the European Commission.
The program will mostly benefit under-developed regions of Romania, with maximum investment contracted by single beneficiary being 15 million euros. Funding could be granted by the end of 2021, while the projects must be implemented by the end of 2023.