There have been two recent and interesting announcements for the
funding of cleantech within the urban environment.
EU
In 2009, the EU established a €3.98 billion programme
to aid economic recovery following the financial crisis. This
economic stimulation package was aimed at energy infrastructure,
offshore wind and carbon capture and storage projects. Pursuant to
the programme the funds have to be committed by 31st December 2010.
Research suggests that €115 million will not be committed
by this date (the exact figure will not be known until the end of
this year - for instance some earmarked projects may fail for
various reasons). Following earlier promises made by the EU
Commission, the EU's Industry, Research and Energy committee
voted last week to approve amending the relevant EU legislation to
allow for the balance of the uncommitted funds to be made available
for a wider scope of projects (see below) under the Sustainable
Energy Financing Initiative.
