The European Investment Bank (EIB) recently increased the budget of the European Local ENergy Assistance (ELENA) program and is looking for new projects, said Ana Maria Lupașcu, EIB/JAPSPERS senior economist, at the conference “Energy Efficiency for Energy Transition” organised in București by Energynomics together with the Romanian Energy Efficiency Fund – FREE and the Directorate for Energy Efficiency within the Ministry of Energy.
Through this instrument, more than 160 projects worldwide with a total value of 9 billion euros have already been financed or are underway, of which the share of grants is more than 280 million euros.
ELENA provides technical assistance for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy targeting innovative buildings and urban transport.
ELENA will cover up to 90% of the costs associated with investment preparation, with applicants responsible for the remaining 10%. The value of the projects must be at least 30 million euros, and the standard grant for a project is between 1 and 3 million euros.
The preparation of building renovation works, renewable energy projects (solar and biomass), street lighting, and street heating and cooling can be financed through this program.
Typically, ELENA supports investment programs of over €30 million with a three-year implementation period for energy efficiency (including residential projects) and a four-year period for urban transport and mobility.
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Through ELENA, three projects were financed in Romania aimed at centralized heating in sector 6 of the capital (total investment of 26.9 million euros), energy efficiency works in the activity area of ADR Muntenia Sud (total investment of 63.8 million of euros) and an energy efficiency project for South-East ADR (project with a total value of 80.3 million euros).
The conference in Buvharest was the last of a series of 5 scheduled by the Energynomics communication platform, the Romanian Fund for Energy Efficiency – FREE and the Directorate for Energy Efficiency within the Ministry of Energy. The project was financed by Norwegian Grants 2014-2021.