CEiiA’s Action Plan aims at the restructuring of the eligibility criteria and result indicators of a forthcoming call for proposals for the “NORTE 2020” – Portuguese Northern Region’s Operational Programme 2014-2020 - Investment Priority 4.3 - "Supporting energy efficiency, smart energy management and the use of renewable energy in public infrastructure, including public buildings and the housing sector". More specifically, the objectives of the Action Plan are:
• Widening the eligibility criteria to support alternative building materials and systems, promoting the adoption of more technically adequate and efficient solutions;
• Adapting the financial framework to consider the maintenance costs of building materials and energy-efficient equipment;
• Adapting the result indicators to the regional reality, placing emphasis on passive energy efficiency measures, the minimization of discomfort, improved living conditions and residents’ quality of life.
To achieve these objectives, improved monitoring and actions to promote capacity-building for policy makers, such as direct contact with potential beneficiaries and cooperation between different sectors, are considered essential tools. A strategy was elaborated based on the interregional learning process, which enabled the share of experience and good practices between project partners, stakeholders, and Managing Authorities.
One of the most relevant good practices was the University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings, in Prague (CZ), where an energy management system was designed for the building to serve as an experimental bed, enabling results providing accurate information on functional parameters of individual materials, structures, energy management systems and intelligent control systems.
Progetto Manifattura, implemented in Trento (IT), also stood out, as a network-event was created where all the associated startups meet to discuss new business-ops, ideas, projects, or to listen and chat with invited guests from across the green-biz world spectrum.
Improved monitoring and evaluating methodologies lead to
the adaptation of the Regional Operational Programme to the needs of its beneficiaries and to the regional reality, and by being more favourable to its beneficiaries, the application of energy efficiency funds will be maximized.
