EU approves €1.7 billion Danish renewable gas scheme

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an estimated €1.7 billion Danish scheme to support the production of renewable gas to be injected into the grid. The scheme will contribute to the EU's climate targets in line with the European Green Deal, as well as the objectives of the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition.

Denmark notified the Commission of its plans to introduce a scheme, with an estimated budget of around €1.7 billion, to support the production of upgraded biogas and e-methane to be injected into the Danish grid. The measure is expected to support the production of 7.9 petajoules of renewable gases per year. The scheme will support the construction of new plants, as well as the extension of existing plants.

The biogas plants must comply with the sustainability and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions saving criteria set out in the Renewable Energy Directive, while the e-methane plants must prove compliance with the criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) set out in the delegated acts on renewable hydrogen.