The European Commission has launched the second call for proposals under the NER300 programme. This major funding programme promotes the commercial demonstration of environmentally safe carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy technologies. Its aim is to combat climate change and spur 'green growth' and jobs in the energy sector. The NER300 is funded from the sale of 300 million allowances from the New Entrants Reserve (NER) of the EU Emission Trading System. It is the EU's major programme of investment in low-carbon and renewable energy demonstration projects, and is implemented by the European Commission with the support of the European Investment Bank. The NER funding scheme was launched in 2011, with the aim of providing up to €4.5 billion in investment for renewable energy projects. Member States have three months to gather proposals for funding from interested companies and submit them to the European Investment Bank. Under the first call, over €1.2 billion funding was awarded to 23 innovative renewable energy projects in 16 Member States, including countries that are currently in fiscal and economic difficulty. The ESB's WestWave energy project, off the west coast of Ireland, was awarded €19.8 million at the time. Under the second call, the funding will leverage a further €2 billion of private investment. The second call for proposals will be financed with revenues obtained from the sale of the remaining 100 million allowances of the NER300 and unused funds from the first call. The exact amount of funding available will depend on the carbon price at the time of sale. Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the EU was continuing its strong support for European businesses which were developing the technologies required to tackle climate change. "The overwhelming response to the first call showed that EU businesses have the know-how and the ambition to lead the low-carbon transition," she added. "This second round offers all CCS and innovative renewable energy technologies a new chance of applying for funding, including those that were not awarded funding in the previous round. We hope to have a full range of low-carbon projects operational by 2018."