Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 31 January 2013
30. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will report on the potential level of European Investment Bank funding available for energy saving proposals for Irish public and private companies and the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4595/13]
View answerThe European Investment Bank (EIB) provide financial support through a number EU programmes and instruments aimed at assisting Member States in supporting EU energy efficiency policy implementation and initiating associated investments. The European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) was launched in July 2011. This €265 million fund provides tailor-made debt and equity instruments to local, regional and national public authorities, and public and private entities acting on their behalf. The EEEF aims at financing bankable projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean urban transport through innovative instruments and in particular promoting the application of Energy Performance Contracts (EPC). A technical assistance grant support is available for project development services (technical, financial) linked to the investments financed by the Fund.
Launched in 2009 under Intelligent Energy Europe, the European Local Energy Assistance Facility (ELENA) initiative provides technical assistance grants (of up to 90% of eligible costs) to local and regional authorities for development and launch of sustainable energy investments. It consists of four operational windows with the European Investment Bank (EIB), Germany’s KfW banking group, KfW, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The ELENA Facility enables the financing of investments both by private and public sources and facilitates connection with financial instruments (such as JESSICA). Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA), is an initiative of the European Commission developed in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). It supports sustainable urban development and regeneration through financial engineering mechanisms.
EU Member States can choose to invest some of their EU structural fund allocations in revolving funds to help recycle financial resources to accelerate investment in Europe's urban areas. These financial instruments (Urban Development Funds) invest in public-private partnerships and other projects included in integrated plans for sustainable urban development.
The pilot phase of the EU-EIB Project Bond Initiative was established in 2012 and aims to revive and expand capital markets to finance large European infrastructure projects in the fields of transport, energy and information technology. The scope of this pilot phase is to test the project bond concept during the remaining period of the current multi-annual financial framework 2007-2013. The pilot phase of the initiative will be implemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with the objective of stimulating investment in key strategic EU infrastructure in transport, energy and broadband.
The breadth of the Funds available for energy efficiency projects highlights the current lack of traditional financing instruments for such projects. This is as relevant in Ireland as elsewhere in Europe. Budget 2013 saw the commitment of €35 million towards the creation of a domestic fund, on which I expect to be in a position to announce further details of in the coming weeks.
