The subsidy scheme Environmental Quality of Electricity Production (MEP) allows producers of renewable electricity to submit a request for subsidy. The scheme was effective from mid-2003 until August 2006. The subsidy was commonly granted for a period of 10 years. In August 2006, the Minister of Economic Affairs decided to discontinue the scheme for new applicants. Due to the huge amount of subsidy requests, the scheme budget was likely to be exceeded. In April 2008, a new subsidy scheme for renewable energy was launched: the Subsidy Scheme Renewable Energy Production (SDE). Back to article