Veyt identifies state aid schemes (for indirect emission costs and for reduced electricity levies) as one of the demand-side legislations responsible for growing RES-E GO cancellations since 2020. For instance, in Germany, the reduced electricity levy scheme could have been responsible for 32 TWh worth of GO demand, while the state aid indirect EU ETS costs state aid – for 16.5 TWh in 2023 (vs. 185 TWh of RES-E GOs cancelled by Germany in the same calendar year).

The state aid for electricity levies reduction for energy-intensive users has been around since the first application period in 2014. The second application period started in 2019. Member States can implement national state aid schemes and introduce additional requirements by building on the Commission’s guidelines.

State aid beneficiaries can qualify for financial compensation by either implementing the recommendations of the energy audit report, investing at least 50 % of the aid amount in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction projects, or reducing the carbon footprint of their electricity consumption. For the latter, unbundled GOs and PPAs fulfil the criterion.

The following industries are eligible for aid (see table below).

To date, 14 European countries have state aid schemes for reduced electricity levies, with Portugal recently joining the list. Only seven countries apply the carbon-free/renewable electricity sourcing criterion (see below). Click on the country name in the table to access the state aid decision.

Below, Veyt provides country-specific data on state aid beneficiaries/installations and compensation amount received/budget allocated, where information is available. Where data is missing, the national authorities have not made the data publicly available.

Note, beneficiaries represent companies that received state aid, whereas installations denote operational facilities under the EU ETS that belong to companies. For example, one company can have ten installations. This is differentiated in each dashboard.

Domestic currency was converted into euros for Romania, using historical exchange rates from the European Central Bank, on a daily basis, averaged to a yearly value.

Veyt provides additional notes for some countries below:

Croatia: The compensation amount for 2020-2021 is unknown; therefore, the estimated government budget for these years is indicated.

Germany: In 2023, a total of 1,650 companies (1,559 of which are in the manufacturing sector) with 2,256 installations received reduced electricity levy state aid. The amount of electricity covered was 106,3 TWh; if 30 % of this amount was backed by GOs, then the potential legislation-induced demand could have reached ca. 32 TWh.

The German authorities estimate that between 2024 and 2033, the government will reimburse between EUR 11 billion and EUR 13 billion.

Italy: The compensation amount is unknown; hence, the allocated government budget is indicated.

Portugal: The compensation amount is unknown as the European Commission approved the Portuguese scheme in April 2025; hence, the allocated government budget is indicated (EUR 60 million per year). According to the state aid decision, as many as 319 beneficiaries could be eligible for compensation from 2025 onwards.

Romania: The compensation amount is unknown; hence, the allocated government budget is indicated.

Slovakia: The compensation amount for 2020-2021 is unknown; therefore, the estimated government budget for these years is indicated.

For the GO market impact assessment, please refer to our earlier analysis.