EU funding for climate and energy projects
Øresund Environment participated in November in a Climate and Energy Seminar in Guldborgsund arranged by The Danish Energy Agency and ZealandDenmark. At the seminar a number of EU funding opportunities directed towards municipalities and collaborations were presented.
13-12-2010
Covernant of Mayors as a driver for new fundings
Covenant of Mayors is a commitment from the cities that have signed the pact to go beyond the objectives of EU energy policy to reduce CO2 emissions through improved energy efficiency and cleaner energy production and energy use.
After one year the Municipalities must prepare an inventory of CO2 emissions from the municipality as a geographical area (baseline mapping, BEI) and an action plan for sustainable energy use (SEAP).
Read more about Covernant of Mayors here
While Covenant Signatories have voluntarily committed to go beyond the EU’s CO2 emissions target of 20% reduction by 2020, the European Commission is adapting or creating specific financial mechanisms to help local authorities fulfill their commitments.
To this purpose EU is developing financial instruments, which can handle less investment than planned for in eg. the ELENA program.
In addition, the EU is to adopt a special fund for climate-friendly projects that Danish municipalities and institutions can apply for. It is estimated that the Danish share of these funds will be in the order of 150 million DKK. The fund will be found under:
The European Energy Recovery Plan
The total of 146 mio. Euro distributed are earmarked to enhance energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy, energy-friendly public transport, fuel and other forms of electric storage, "smart" metering of electrical energy and "smart" electricity grids.
The new fund will serve primarily local and regional authorities to promote decentralised energy and save energy. The money will be disbursed as loans, guarantees, equity and other financial products and will be paid back to the fund.
The deadline for applications is set to the 31.th. of March 2011.
Read more about the new opportunities at the European Energy Recovery Plan here
Intelligent Energy Europe: New 2011 program
Intelligent Energy Europe is a leading program for realization of EU objectives in climate and energy. At the two seminars in Guldborgsund and Middelfart, the Danish Energy Agency revealed the priorities of the 2011 program, with 105 mio. Euro allocated.
IEE provides basically 75% support for the project cost and would normally require partners from at least three countries. The deadline for submission will most likely be in late June 2011. Details will shortly be available at the IEE website
European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA)
ELENA is a program that the EU Commission has set up in cooperation with the European Investment Bank. The program is an independent part of the Intelligent Energy Europe II program.
ELENA is designed for large-scale projects. The program can pay up to 90 percent of design costs of energy, but in return the entire project has to be at least 25 times as large as the project expenditure.
With the new fund in the European Energy Recovery Plan (above)we could expect a factor of 1:10, says Ture Hammar from The Danish Energy Agency. This makes it easier for municipalities to apply for fundings.
Read more about ELENA here