EU Launches Second RENEWFM Tender

The European Commission has opened a second round of bidding for cross-border renewable energy projects under the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM).

The scheme, launched in 2020, encourages EU countries to collaborate on renewable energy initiatives by providing financial support or hosting projects on their territory. Luxembourg, Finland, and Estonia are partnering for this latest tender, with Luxembourg contributing EUR 52.4 million ($57.3 million) to fund solar and wind projects in Finland and Estonia, respectively, the Commission said in a media release.

The call for proposals, open until March 4, 2025, seeks to support ground-mounted solar PV projects in Finland and onshore wind projects in Estonia. Successful projects must be operational within two and three years, respectively, of the tender closing.

The financial contributions that enter the financing mechanism scheme will be distributed to the renewable energy projects by the Commission through competitive tenders for grants. The Commission said that grants cover either the installation of a renewable energy production facility with a certain capacity (investment support) or the actual production of renewable energy (operating support). The size of the grant is determined by the outcome of the tender procedure, where only the most competitive projects will be selected and receive support corresponding to their bid in the tender.

The Commission said the general principle of the RENEWFM is to rank applications according to the lowest price offer per MW.

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