The European Energy Committee has approved an agreement to use €146m ($201.7m) of unspent funds to finance energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
The European Energy Recovery Plan (EERP) will convert the unspent money into a new fund, to finance projects such as public and private buildings renovations to improve energy efficiency or switching to renewable energy.
The amount could also be used for the construction of renewable energy based heat-and-power installations, on electric and hydrogen vehicles and for efficient street lighting, electricity storage, smart metering and smart grids.
The new fund will provide 15% financial assistance in the form of loans, guarantees, equity or other financial products to local and regional authorities to be able to fund economically and financially viable projects.
The EERP aims to boost economic recovery by funding energy projects such as cross-border gas and electricity inter-connectors, offshore wind parks, and Carbon Capture and Storage projects (CCS).
