EU Commission authorises demonstration offshore scheme in Portugal

The European Commission has found a Portuguese scheme aimed at promoting renewable energy technologies to be in line with EU state aid rules.

The scheme will support demonstration projects producing renewable energy from the ocean, wave energy and tidal energy, and innovative offshore wind technologies. The Commission concluded in particular that the project would further EU energy and environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition in the single market.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, stated:

"the development of new renewable technologies is crucial to help Europe meet its environmental commitments. Today's approved scheme is an important step for bringing new technologies to the market."

The scheme will support demonstration projects with a total installed capacity of 50 MW, of which 25 MW have already been allocated to the so-called "Windfloat project".

This project will test floating offshore wind turbines in real operating conditions. This concerns wind turbines mounted on a floating platform instead of columns fixed to the seabed as is the case with conventional offshore technology, which allows the technology to be deployed in deeper waters. For the remaining 25 MW capacity, project proposals can be submitted until the end of this year.

The aid will be granted for 25 years in the form of a feed-in-tariff to compensate for the higher costs of the new technologies. The project will also benefit from investment aid and funding from NER300, the EU support program for innovative low-carbon energy demonstration projects.