Press Release: State aid: Commission approves €16 million Austrian support to environmental-friendly project by Verbund-Austrian Thermal Power

The European Commission on 24 March 2010 authorised Austria to grant €16 million towards an energy-saving project run by Verbund-Austrian Thermal Power GmbH & Co. KG (a subsidiary of the Verbund group) for the combined production of electricity and heat. The aid is in line with the European Union's guidelines on State aid for environmental objectives (see IP/08/80). In particular, the combined production of electricity and heat is an innovative process that leads to significant primary energy savings compared to the separate production of heat and electricity. At the same time, it results in a reduction of greenhouse gases.