The session for enrolling in the Energy Efficient House for Public Buildings Program started on Thursday, and the public authorities and institutions can access the computer application provided by the Environment Fund Administration (AFM) to create their user account, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests (MMAP) said, on its Facebook page.

The application was developed with the support of specialists AFIR – Agency for Financing Rural Investments, based on the partnership signed between the two institutions.

“Today, the building sector is one of the largest consumers of energy and the largest source of greenhouse gases. Energy losses reach up to 30% only through exterior walls, or 25% through windows or roofs. The European Commission sets very clear targets: a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. And in the public buildings sector, Member States will have specific targets – to renovate at least 3% of the total surface of public buildings annually. By starting this financing program, Romania is already preparing to reach the objectives set at European level, even before they become mandatory,” said the Minister of Environment, Barna Tanczos, according to Agerpres.

According to the relevant ministry, starting with September 20, 2021, at 10:00, the beneficiaries can submit the financing applications and can upload the related documents, through the accounts already created.

“Our program, launched for the first time in Romania, has a large environmental component, but also an economic and social one: indirectly, such an investment leads to a halving of energy bills and, implicitly, to a decrease in national energy consumption. And to facilitate beneficiaries’ access to funding, the entire application process takes place exclusively online, through the new AFM application developed with the support of colleagues at AFIR. We thus reduce red tape through digitalization and significantly reduce the waiting time for approving files and obtaining funds,” the minister added.

The Energy Efficient House program for public buildings is addressed to the administrative-territorial units organized at commune, city, municipality, county, administrative-territorial subdivisions of Bucharest and public institutions subordinated / under the coordination of the deliberative authorities of the local public administration.

The amount allocated to the financing session is of 1.40 billion lei, and the financing is granted in a maximum of 100% of the eligible expenses of an investment objective and within the limits of the amounts that can be granted for each category of applicants.