Dutch CO2 Pipe Subsidy Cleared by EU

The Netherlands has received EU approval of a grant towards carbon dioxide (CO₂) transport infrastructure, while its state power grid TenneT has undertaken to increase Danish-German trade.

The European Commission (EC) said December 7 that Dutch plans to grant €3.8mn ($4.3mn) of state money to the company OCAP CO₂ to run greenhouses near Aalsmeer, which is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 37,500 metric tons/yr. The grant will go to build a pipe and compressor station. 

Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. ngc.co.tt

The approval may be seen as a sign of EU willingness to approve state funding of future CO₂ infrastructure; state Gasunie has some ambitious plans to convert gas pipes to CO₂ or hydrogen.

Separately, the EC adopted a decision that renders as legally binding commitments offered late March 2018 by TenneT to significantly increase cross-border flows of electricity between Denmark and Germany. TenneT is also the main grid operator in northern Germany. The EC opened a formal probe in mid-March 2018 into whether TenneT was discriminating against non-German generators. Subsequently TenneT offered commitments to address the concerns which the EC said had satisfied the market and it is these which it made legally binding.