Ok di Bruxelles al piano dei Paesi bassi per supportare l’efficienza energetica (Eng)

Brussels – The European Commission has found that a Dutch scheme granting guarantees to banks that issue subordinated loans to energy-saving projects does not involve state aid within the meaning of the EU rules. The objective of the Dutch “Energy Transition Financing Facility” is to improve access to finance for projects aiming at easing the transition to a low carbon economy, such as geothermal or energy savings in energy intensive industries, for which demand exceeds the supply that banks can offer. The Dutch scheme will guarantee those subordinated loans for up to 80% of the amount of the loan. The scheme is set to start in 2017, with a budget of 80 million euros for the first two years. The Commission found that the Dutch authorities will ensure a sufficiently high remuneration on the guarantees on such loans and will only issue guarantees on loans financing viable projects. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the guarantees do not constitute state aid to the banks, nor to the borrowers involved.