EU grants 1.5 bn euros for clean energy projects

BRUSSELS - The European Union’s executive Wednesday granted over 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in aid to 15 experimental clean energy projects.

The decision is part of a package of measures designed to fight the European recession and combat global warming by boosting investment into clean coal-fired power stations, offshore wind generators and international energy links.

The decision “laid the foundation for the development of two key sustainable technologies that will be essential in our fight against climate change” and “not only gives a push to the economy and employment, but also supports innovative energy technologies,” EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement.

The EU is keen to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by boosting its use of renewable energy and reducing the pollution from its many coal-fired power stations.

At the height of the economic crisis, EU leaders therefore agreed to spend almost 4 billion euros of EU funds to promote the building of energy links, offshore wind generators and “carbon capture and storage” (CCS) power plants, which would pump their greenhouse gases underground.

Wednesday’s decision allocated 1 billion euros to six CCS projects and 565 million euros to nine offshore wind power plants.

The CCS projects are sited in Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

The wind power projects are located off the coasts of Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The European Commission is set to allocate funding to new international energy links in February.