Austrian Energy Agency Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 1 Objectives of the SF - Energy Invest Project Johannes Schmidl

In this presentation  Structural- and Cohesion Funds  Previous projects and lessons learned  SF (Structural Funds)-Energy Invest Project  Major Actions of SF-Energy Invest  Example: Bioenergy Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 2

3 Structural & Cohesion Funds in a Nutshell (1) STRUCTURAL FUNDS  The Structural Funds are made up of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). They aim to reduce regional disparities in terms of income, wealth and opportunities. COHESION FUNDS  The Cohesion Fund contributes to interventions in the field of the environment, transport, infrastructure and renewable energy. It applies to member states with a Gross National Income (GNI) of less than 90% of the EU average.  As such, it covers all 12 new member states as well as Greece, Portugal and Spain (phasing-out)

4 Structural & Cohesion Funds in a Nutshell (2) Objectives Convergence Regional Competitiveness and Employment European territorial Cooperation Structural Funds and instruments ERDF ESF Cohesion Fund All Member States & regions MemberStates with a GNI/head below 90% EU average ESF

5 Total SCF budget In 2007 – 2013: 360 billion euro

Structural Funds The EU Structural & Cohesion Funds represent a vast amount of money to enhance the social and economic cohesion within the European Union. Sustainable energy investments are of strategic importance for regional development, and can be a very good means to achieve the objectives of Structural & Cohesion Funds. Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 6

Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 7

Many barriers exist that limit the use of Structural Funds (SF) for sustainable energy projects (RES and EE), as has been identified in previous IEE projects (PromoSCene, Ruse, Energy4cohesion ) Lessons learned: Lack of awareness and expertise Lack of targeted promotion Lack of transparency in procedures, Changing framework Lack of project development skills and capacity Getting financing (pre-financing/ co-financing) etc, etc Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 8

A general conclusion of PromoSCene “...the ‘networks’ of Structural Funds on the one hand and sustainable energy on the other do not seem to connect very well.” Therefore: The aim of SF - Energy Invest: increase the share of SF for sustainable energy projects and EE projects provide practical recommendations for the period of Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 9

The SF Energy Invest project: Collaborative Actions for Triggering Investments in Sustainable Energy Actions using Structural and Cohesion Funds Contract No: IEE/09/09/681/S Project duration: 30 month Start date: 1 July 2010 Aim: to trigger investments in sustainable energy by using Structural and Cohesion funds, through:  Mobilisation campaigns (Energy Investment Days)  Enabling project developers  Promoting success stories  Developing policy recommendations

Target groups of SF Energy Invest Project 1) Potential beneficiaries (project developers, banks, municipalities, etc.)  increasing awareness on SF for sustainable energy  improving project development skills by supporting 5 pilot projects 2) Managing authorities:  increasing awareness of sustainable energy investments by organising 9 Energy Investment Days  increasing capacities to simplify SF procedures  improving understanding of RES & EE based on best practice projects Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 11

12 For example: SCF Budgets allocated to Bioenergy project SCF represent huge potential for financing bioenergy projects in Europe`s regions! On-going programming period: Total SF budget: 360 billion euro (100%) Budget for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: 9 billion euro (2.6%) Budget for bioenergy: 1.8 billion euro (0.5%)

13 SCF Budgets allocated to Bioenergy

Financial Engineering: Period of project development: For example: Reconstruction of Liiva boilerplant and district heating system

Partners and Contact  Coordinator: NL Agency, The Netherlands Carmen Heinze NL Agency Division of Energy and Climate Change  Partners: ADENE, Portugal Austrian Energy Agency (AEA), Austria Archimedes, Estonia Berlin Energy Agency (BEA), Germany Black Sea Energy Research Centre, Bulgaria CECOHDAS, Europe Energie-Cities, EU ENVIROS, Czech Republic European Renewable Energy Council, Europe WIP – Renewable Energies, Germany Austrian Energy Agency | 20/10/15 | Seite 15