Trinomics in collaboration with Ricardo-AEA (lead partner), TNO and Lasting Values has been awarded a service contract by the European Commission’s DG Climate Action to provide Technical Assistance support to the Commission with the implementation of the NER300 Decision. The European Union’s main energy strategy documents – Energy 2020 and Energy Roadmap 2050 – emphasize the need to deploy low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and renewable energy technologies to reach the EU’s 2020 target and 2050 vision of a secure, competitive and low-carbon energy system. To catalyse innovation and implementation of low-carbon technologies, the Commission has launched several initiatives, among them the New Entrants Reserve (NER300) Programme. The NER300 Programme is a co-funding programme for the demonstration of low-carbon technologies at commercial scale. It was established under Article 10a (8) of the revised Emissions Trading Directive, stating that ‘up to 300 million allowance in the new entrants’ reserve shall be available until 31 December 2015’ to help encourage the construction and operation of CCS as well as innovation renewable energy technologies in the EU. The funding programme was further developed through the NER300 Decision in 2010. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has subsequently signed an agreement with the European Commission to aid in the implementation of the NER300 Initiative.

The objective of this study is to provide support to the Commission with the implementation of the NER300 Decision, in particular by:

• Assessing the contents of all NER300 projects’ annual reports, for both 2014 and 2015. The assessment should enable the Commission to take action related to annual reports, as appropriate;
• Analysing notifications of proposed changes to NER300 projects, especially from a technological point of view but in some cases also from a financial point of view. Substantial and justified notifications of changes to projects can result in amendments to the NER300 award decisions, to be drafted by the Commission;
• Answering technical questions on projects and their potential changes, coming from the Commission, Member States or Project Sponsors.

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact Jeroen van der Laan.