15 Apr (NucNet): Nuclear fuel processing companies in the EU are eligible for partial compensation for additional costs incurred from support schemes for the financing of renewable energy, according to new state aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy.
The guidelines on environmental protection and energy were published by the European Commission on 9 April 2014 and are valid from 1 July 2014 until the end of 2020.
They say the nuclear fuel processing industry is eligible for compensation because it is exposed to “a risk to its competitive position” because of the costs of support for renewable energy.
EU member states will be able to give partial compensation to nuclear fuel processing companies through a reduction of charges added to their energy bills for renewable energy financing schemes, a fixed annual compensation amount, or a combination of the two.
For the EC to consider the aid as proportional, the beneficiary must cover at least 15 percent of the additional costs related to financing renewable energy, which means the maximum amount of state aid is 85 percent of those costs.
Companies severely affected by the additional costs which cannot cover this 15 percent are eligible for further reductions under specific conditions.
Other sectors eligible for reductions include the manufacture of refined petroleum products, manufacture of plastic packaging, and the production of copper, aluminium and cement.
The state aid guidelines provide the framework for gradual introduction of market-based mechanisms for the energy sector, the promotion of competitiveness and the clarification of what constitutes state aid and when it is allowed. The EC said the aim of the guidelines is to help secure adequate electricity generation in the EU and meet renewable energy targets.
Specific guidelines for the nuclear energy sector were excluded by the EC’s 28-member college of commissioners to “neither encourage nor discourage” member states on nuclear energy.
The new state aid guidelines are online:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/energy/eeag_en.pdf
