European Commission approves €2.4 billion in Czech support for biomethane production

The European Commission approved a Czech programme to support biomethane production, in which the state plans to invest 2.4 billion euros (almost CZK 59 billion). The programme is intended to improve the efficiency of electricity generation and will be available particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises and renewable energy communities, Environment Minister Petr Hladík said today. Support will be available until the end of 2025.

Czechia needed approval from the European Union’s executive arm, which oversees compliance with competition rules. The Commission concluded that „the positive effects of the aid outweigh any potential negative effects on competition“.

According to the Commission, the programme is necessary and appropriate to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels and transition to climate-friendly energy sources. Both are among the Commission’s policy priorities, and it allows funding from EU funds to be drawn for their implementation. The Czech support is also limited to the necessary minimum and will not give beneficiary companies an undue advantage, the Commission said.

„It will help Czechia meet its emissions reduction targets, end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels and at the same time improve the security of gas supply,“ said European Commissioner for Competition Didier Reynders on the approval of the programme.

According to Hladík, the programme will help with the transition from biogas plants, which generate electricity at 40 percent efficiency, to biomethane plants. These feed gas back into the gas network, giving them significantly higher efficiency. „This is the beginning of putting our vision of a transition to emission-free electricity into practice,“ Hladík added.