The Commission approves measures to encourage energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources in the Netherlands
The European Commission has recently authorized two aid schemes to encourage energy conservation and the use of renewable energies in the Netherlands. The budget for 1994 is ECU 16.2 million for wind energy and ECU 43.9 million for energy conservation technologies. Under these schemes, subsidies are given in the form of outright grants to purchase and to invest in energy-saving equipment. Amendments to the schemes, concerning aid intensities, largely involve significant reductions in the permitted aid intensity levels (between 15% and 35%). In the case of combined heat and power projects, the most important programme in terms of budget and aid levels, the budget has been lowered by 40%, and the aid intensity has been reduced by 2.5% to 15%. This means that the maximum amount of grant per firm has been halved.
Paesi
Netherlands