Financing
The costs for the entire installation amounted to approximately EUR 10 million. Because the investment and operating costs for a membrane bioreactor (MBR) are higher than for a conventional wastewater treatment plant, the Rhine and IJssel Water Board sought additional financing. Key support was provided by the Foundation for Applied Water Research (STOWA). To cover the additional costs and risks, STOWA created an Innovation Fund with support from all Dutch water boards. The Fund was established to enable the entire Dutch water treatment sector to provide incentives for innovative technological development, such as the MBR plant in Varsseveld.
The broader importance of the MBR project was also recognized by the European
Union, the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, and
the Ministry of Economic Affairs. For instance, the European Union
provided a financial
contribution as part of LIFE, the EU’s financial instrument for the environment.
The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment concluded that
the project serves the interests of environmental protection and issued a so-called ‘green
declaration’ for it (meaning that the MBR project qualifies for incentive
schemes for ‘green investment’). The Minister of Economic Affairs
allocated subsidies to the project as part of the subsidy scheme for energy
supplies in the non-profit and special sectors (EINP scheme).