The Minister of Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, announced this Friday that a new notice of the Support for More Sustainable Buildings Program will soon be opened, with additional funds to the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Created to support the investment of families in efficient windows, solar panels, thermal insulation, heat pumps, among other projects and equipment that promote energy efficiency in homes, this program has closed its applications since May 2022, “with a total allocation of 135 million euros, resulting from the various reinforcements that have been made throughout its implementation,” can be read on the website of the Environmental Fund.
According to the data contained in the report on Phase II of the More Sustainable Buildings Program 2021/2022, recently published on the website of the Environmental Fund, 70,344 applications have been paid, corresponding to an executed value of 122.6 million euros, which represents 91% of the program’s allocation. The average amount paid for each application was 1,743 euros, for an estimated annual saving in energy efficiency of 37.8 million euros. More than 10 million m2 of the Portuguese housing stock were covered.
The Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, announced this Friday that a new call for proposals for the Support for More Sustainable Buildings Program will soon be opened, with additional funding to the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Created to support the investment of families in efficient windows, solar panels, thermal insulation, heat pumps, among other projects and equipment that promote energy efficiency in homes, this program has closed its applications since May 2022, “with a total allocation of 135 million euros, resulting from the various reinforcements that have been made throughout its implementation,” can be read on the website of the Environmental Fund.
According to the data contained in the report on Phase II of the More Sustainable Buildings Program 2021/2022, recently published on the website of the Environmental Fund, 70,344 applications have been paid, corresponding to an executed value of 122.6 million euros, which represents 91% of the program’s allocation. The average amount paid for each application was 1,743 euros, for an estimated annual saving in energy efficiency of 37.8 million euros. More than 10 million m2 of the Portuguese housing stock were covered.
Now, those who have carried out energy efficiency works at home and want to receive the corresponding contribution from the government (up to 85% of the amount spent) will have to wait for the opening of a new notice, which, according to Duarte Cordeiro, will appear after the redistribution of funds from RePowerEU, which Portugal is waiting for. “As soon as it is confirmed, a new notice will be launched,” said the minister.
Efficiency vouchers can be used in rented houses
But not all of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action’s programs under the RRP have gone as well as the Support for More Sustainable Buildings program. Out of a total of 22 MAAC programs assessed by the National RRP Monitoring Committee, only 16 were deemed to be on track, six were deemed ‘worrisome’ and one was deemed ‘critical’. In total, the Ministry is managing €2.8 billion of the RRP, with 25% of this amount, or €700 million, expected to be implemented in 2023.
In the services sector, the Energy Efficiency Promotion Program had an allocation of 40 million, but the government received applications for more than 100 million if all are approved. The final decision has not yet been made, but the government wants to increase the amount in this notice so that all eligible applications will have the financial framework for approval.
“We believe that we will realize the potential of all these applications and that all of them will be executed in the time of the RRP,” he stressed.
New call for 80 million for hydrogen launched by March
As for the Notice for Investment in Green Hydrogen and Renewable Gas Projects, it has now gone from worrying to on target. “We had an initial value of 60 million, but we received many applications and increased the allocation to 100 million euros, and therefore the delay recorded by the monitoring committee,” said Duarte Cordeiro.
In the meantime, contracts have already been signed with 25 consortia, whose execution will be extended for another year. “We expect to launch in the first quarter a new call for green hydrogen and renewable gases for 80 million euros,” said Duarte Cordeiro, who expects these projects to be executed by the end of 2024.
Also of concern, the program “Emparcelar para ordenenar”, in the forestry component, will be “rethought” and relaunched. “As it is designed, the program does not produce results,” acknowledged Duarte Cordeiro.