Friday 18 March 2016

EU approves €28m aid for Finnish LNG terminal

Plans to grant €28 million (£22m) in public funds to build a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Finland have won approval from the European Commission.

It said the proposal is in line with EU state aid rules and doesn’t distort competition.

Located at Hamina on Finland’s South East coast, it will have a storage capacity of 30,000 cubic meters and the public funding will cover 30% of the total investment costs.

There are currently no LNG terminals in the country, which is dependent on one source for its gas imports.

The Hamina project is part of Finland’s plans to create a network of small LNG terminals with the aim of offering LNG fuelling stations for ships and ensuring an additional source of gas for Finland.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in charge of competition policy, said: "These small-scale LNG terminals will provide a new source of cleaner fuel for the maritime industry and diversify Finland's gas supply sources. It is a good example of EU state aid rules encouraging sound public investment and helping the EU reach its energy security and environmental goals."

Last September, the Commission approved state aid for the first LNG terminal at Pori on the west coast of Finland.