Romania: Support Programmes to Increase SMEs’ Energy Efficiency
Romania has until 2020 to improve its energy efficiency by 20 % in order to comply with the EU Climate and Energy Package. Because a substantial share of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions is caused by industrial enterprises, offering a special renewable incentive for these companies seemed the logical thing to do – hence, the new grant programme, which started in March 2014 and addresses small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The energy efficiency programme for SMEs, RO 05, is funded by EUR 8 million of EEA grants from the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.
With the EEA grants, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland cooperatively strive to strengthen their relations to sixteen less prosperous EU countries in central and southern Europe. By acting as the EEA RO 05‘s programme operator, the Romanian Ministry of Economy co-finances the subsidy scheme with an additional EUR 1.41 million. The grants are planned to cover up to 70 % of the costs оf SME projects, in order to modernise production facilities and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to RO 05 programme regulations, eligible technological solutions include industrial heating and cooling systems based on renewable energies, such as solar thermal (for more information, please see the the table below). Projects providing the greatest CO2 reduction in relation to allocated resources (t CO2 /1,000 Euro) are given the highest priority.
Five instead of 20 applications
With total programme funds adding up to EUR 9.41 million, the ministry initially hoped to award grants between EUR 200,000 and EUR 700,000 to a total of twenty SMEs. But only five small and medium industrial companies submitted their applications by the deadline of 9 May 2014, leading to a mere Romanian Leu (RON) 10.64 million (EUR 2.43 million) in requested grants (see attached file). As a result, the Ministry of Economy announced that it would determine the conditions for continuing the SME programme once the evaluation of the already submitted projects had been concluded. Bogdan Nicolae Paunescu, a business consultant with Romanian consulting company DCC Management, who didn´t manage to find any client suitable for EEA’s grant requirements, said: “We are now waiting for the next call in the near future.”
More information:
Romanian Мinistry of Economy: http://www.minind.ro
DCC Management: http://www.dccmanagement.com
| Country / Region | Romania |
| Name of programme | Energy Efficiency in the Industry for SMEs (RO 05) |
| Type of incentive | Grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy investment projects |
| Eligible technologies | Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies like solar thermal energy systems |
| Applicable sectors | Small and medium industrial enterprises |
| Amount | From EUR 200,000 to EUR 700,000 |
| Maximum incentive | 70% of the total project costs for small and micro companies, up to 60% for medium-sized companies |
| Requirements for system | Not specified |
| Requirements for installation | Not specified |
| Finance provider | Ministry of Economy of Romania as the programme operator |
| Total funds | EUR 9.41 million |
| Funding sources |
|
| Effective date | First call in March 2014, further tenders will follow once the first-round applications are analysed. |
| Expiration date | April 2017 |
| Website | http://www.eeagrants.org/programme/view/RO05/PA05 |
| Last review of this tabloid | June 2014 |
| Contact | Ministry of Economy of Romania – Programme Operator (RO 05) Calea Victoriei, nr.152, Sector 1, Bucuresti Tel.: +4 021 2025202 Fax: +4 021 2025191 Email: eeagrants@minind.ro http://www.minind.ro |
