What Are the Current (Financial) Support Mechanisms For

SURVEY – in the framework of the EERA e3s dialogue between researchers and stakeholders on the new Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020

Taking place on Monday March 23rd, in Brussels

Please return this survey to Erwin CornelisErwin.cornelis (add) vito.be by March 11th, 2015

Name:
Organisation:
Country:

What are the current (financial) support mechanisms for:

Subsidies(1) / Certificates / Tendering / Other (please specify)
Renewable energy (if necessary split between technologies) / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐
Renewable heating/cooling / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐
Cogeneration / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐
District heating/cooling / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐
Energy efficiency in industry / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐
Energy efficiency in buildings / ☐ / ☐ / ☐ / ☐

(1)Subsidies include: feed-in tariffs; feed-in premium; …

How is currently in your country the level of support determined (methodologies, reference case, …)?

Renewable energy (if necessary split between technologies)
Renewable heating/cooling
Cogeneration
District heating/cooling
Energy efficiency in industry
Energy efficiency in buildings

According to the State Aid Rules, aid should a priori be granted in a competitive bidding process on the basis of clear, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. To what extent will this have an impact on the support mechanisms indicated above?

Will the new State Aid Rules have other impacts on these support mechanisms? If so, to what extent?

Below you find a list of aspects stipulated by the new State Aid Rules.

Please indicate how important you rate this aspect and whether the current national aid is compliant to this aspect. Please indicate also whether this aspect belongs to your field of research.

How important do you rate this aspect? / Is the current national aid compliant with this aspect? / Is this a topic that you study or that you intent to study?
“Environmental and energy aid can only be found compatible with the internal market if it has an incentive effect.”
The incentive effect means that the additionality of the aid is 100% compared to BAU. / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐To some extent
☐No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
“Member States should identify the market failures hampering an increased level of environmental protection or a well-functioning secure, affordable and sustainable internal energy market.” “The choice of the aid instrument should be coherent with the market failure that the aid measure aims at addressing.”
Market failure includes negative and positive externalities, asymmetric information and coordination failures. / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
“The Member State should … ensure that the aid is awarded in the form that is likely to generate the least distortions of trade and competition.” / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
“For operating aid, the Member State must demonstrate that the aid is appropriate to achieve the objective of the scheme to which the aid is targeted. To demonstrate that the aid is appropriate, the Member State may calculate the aid amount ex ante”
“Environmental and energy aid is considered to be proportionate if the aid amount per beneficiary is limited to the minimum needed to achieve the environmental protection or energy objective aimed for.” / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
“To further ensure that distortion of competition is limited, the Commission may require that certain aid schemes are subject to a time limitation (of normally 4 years or less) and to … evaluation …. Evaluations will be carried out for schemes where the potential distortion of competition is particularly high, that is to say, that may risk to significantly restrict or distort competition if their implementation is not reviewed in due time.” / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
“The Union set an overall Union target for the share of renewable energy sources in final energy consumption and translated this target into mandatory national targets. The Renewable Energy Directive includes cooperation mechanisms to facilitate cross border support for achieving national targets. Operating aid schemes should in principle be open to other EEA countries and Contracting Parties of the Energy Community to limit the overall distortive effects.”
Cooperation mechanisms ensure that renewable energy produced in one Member State can count to the target of another Member State. / ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:

Below you find a list of other related aspects. Please indicate how important you rate this aspect and whether the current national aid is compliant to this aspect. Please indicate also whether this aspect belongs to your field of research.

Supply chains of low carbon technologies

How do these markets function?
Who are the market players?
How to intervene?

/ ☐ Very important
☐ Important
☐ Less important
☐ Unimportant
Comments: / ☐ Yes
☐ To some extent
☐ No
☐ Do not know
Comments:
Analysis of current support mechanisms