In December 2018 the EU Member States proposed to reduce energy consumption by 32.5% by 2030. However, this purpose requires a large investment, especially in residential buildings that represent 40% of the EU’s total energy demand. For this reason, one of the European priorities is focused on accelerating energy-efficiency adequacy of housing.
The main key is focused on the ELENA (European Local ENergy Assistance) programme and all the new funds dedicated to it are in line with the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings (SFSB) initiative. Both have the aim of making investments in this topic more attractive to private investors.
ELENA will benefit from €97 million from the European Commission. Project development services will be directed to households and homeowner associations to increase their comfort and reduce energy bills. Moreover, it will also be available for other organisations or public entities. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide assistance and expertise to act as the intermediary.
ELENA is celebrating its tenth anniversary and more than 80 beneficiaries have received financial support distributed via commercial banks to homeowner associations. ELENA’s support in these investments will reduce energy and bills while increasing the renewable energy sources in residential buildings.
To give more visibility to this programme, EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete highlighted ELENA as a great example of the effective use of public money and encourage potential beneficiaries to apply for these funds. On the other hand, Andre McDowell -EIB Vice-President in charge of energy-, added the importance of accelerating energy efficiency investments in residential buildings with the objective of reducing carbon emissions and to improve the climate change.
Picture by Pixabay.
