EU approves 9.4-bln-euro Polish renewable energy support program

WARSAW, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission has approved a 40-billion-zloty (9.4 billion euros) government program to support the renewable energy sector, Polish Press Agency reported Wednesday.

The program provides state financial support for producers of energy from renewable sources. In a press release on Wednesday, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager was quoted as saying: "We want to make progress towards green energy for the sake of our environment and also to contribute to European economic growth. The Polish support scheme will increase the share of green energy in Poland's energy mix and help the country's energy transition. It will also preserve the global competitiveness of companies that are heavily energy dependent."

Renewable energy producers will be selected for support through competitive auctions. Two rounds of auctions have already been held, in December 2016 and June 2017. Additional auctions will be held until June 30, 2021.

According to the press release, small installations with a capacity of up to 500KW can benefit from a "feed-in tariff" while installations of more than 500KW capacity will receive a premium on top of the market price for electricity, so that they can further adapt their production to market signals. Enditem