The Saxon Ministry of Regional Development has criticized the federal government's funding programme for the former coal-mining regions for not being sufficiently ambitious. "I am delighted that the federal government has finally heard the call from Saxony and has now also included investment-based business support in the federal "STARK" funding program," said Saxony's Minister of State for Regional Development Thomas Schmidt (CDU).
However, it is incomprehensible why the federal government is only focusing on transformation technologies in the amendment and is not making any unrestricted expansion for our small and medium-sized enterprises. It is precisely these companies that urgently need support in the current times of crisis.
New opportunities for innovative projects
The federal government had previously published the revised funding guideline "Strengthening transformation dynamics and new departures in the coal mining areas and at coal-fired power plant sites" - also known as "STARK".
These innovations should make it possible to fund projects for the production of batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, electrolysers and equipment for CO2 capture, use and storage. A new feature is the possibility of covering up to 40 percent of eligible investment costs. In addition, investments in some existing funding categories are also eligible for funding with immediate effect.
The federal government is supporting the coal regions in phasing out climate-damaging coal-fired power generation with billions in funding. Politicians and the energy company RWE have agreed to phase out coal in the Rhineland region eight years earlier, in 2030. Habeck had said at the beginning of 2023 that a phase-out brought forward to 2030 in the east would also have to be agreed by consensus.
Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
