Cohesion Policy support for Renewable Energy Camelia M. Kovcs - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Regional Policy

Cohesion Policy support for Renewable Energy

Camelia M. Kovács European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

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Commission proposal for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

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Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

Investment policy supporting Europe 2020: growth, jobs, quality of life and sustainable development

• European Regional

Development Fund (ERDF)

• European Social Fund (ESF)
• Cohesion Fund (CF)

Total: Around € 322

billion of EU funds, concentrated in less developed regions

The map shows eligibility simulation for the ERDF and the ESF. Approximate overall amount and classification of regions based on political agreement on EU Multiannual Financial Framework reached between EP and Council June 2013.

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Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

• Cohesion Policy to allocate some 20 billion € (estimate!) to

investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy – including in buildings – smart distribution grids and urban mobility, including research and innovation in those areas in complementarity with Horizon 2020;

• Cohesion Policy also to allocate resources, mainly in less

developed regions, to promote sustainable transport and to remove bottlenecks in key network infrastructures, including energy, in complementarity with the Connecting Europe Facility;

• Crucial to ensure that public funding complements private
• investment. Financial instruments with Cohesion Policy

contribution to be used where potential for private revenue or cost savings is large.

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Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

• Adoption of Commission proposal in October 2011
• Reduce disparities between Europe's regions strengthening

economic, social and territorial cohesion

• Contribute to the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart,

sustainable and inclusive growth

• Focus on thematic concentration
• Presently the legislative process is on-going and is in

advanced stage (The Trilogue)

• In parallel, presently the programming documents are

prepared by the MS (Partnership Agreements and Operational

Programmes) and informal negotiations take place with

the European Commission

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Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

• Recognised need to increase the performance and

impact of the funds, thus, the following novelties:

• Thematic concentration of funds: 11 thematic objectives

linked to the Europe 2020 Strategy (Article 9 of Common Provisions Regulation)

• Ex-ante conditionalities (Annex V of the Common

Provisions Regulation)

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Europe 2020

inclusive sustainable smart

Cohesion Policy

Thematic Concentration – 11 Objectives (Art.9)

• 1. Strengthening research, technological development and innovation;
• 2. Enhancing access to, and use and quality of, information and

communication technologies;

• 3. Enhancing the competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized

Enterprises (SME) […];

• 4. Supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors;
• 5. Promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and

management;

• 6. Preserving, protecting the environment, promoting resource efficiency
• 7. Promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key

network infrastructures;

• 8. Promoting sustainable, quality employment, supporting labour

mobility;

• 9. Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination;

10.Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning;

• 11. Enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and

stakeholders, efficient public administration

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Less developed regions Developed regions & transition regions

60% 20% 6% 44%

Concentration of ERDF

Research and Innovation Energy efficiency and renewable energy SMEs competitiveness Thematic objectives are translated into priorities specific to each of the European Structural and Investment Funds and set out in the Fund-specific rules.

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Common Strategic Framework Partnership Agreement Operational Programmes Projects Regulations

Proposed by Commission Annex I to Common Provisions Regulation Prepared by MS in dialogue with Commission, approval if Commission observations taken into account Drawn up by MS in cooperation with partners MS, except major projects, where documentation submitted to Commission, approval needed

Increasing MS competence

Thematic objectives contribute to EU 2020 Translates objectives and targets of EU 2020 into indicative actions of high EU added value Alignment with EU 2020: evaluation, results expected, indicative allocation by thematic

• bjective

Strategy consistent with ESF, thematic

• bjectives, investment

priorities, etc.

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Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

• Commission and Member States negotiate Partnership Agreements

(PAs) at national level and Operational Programmes (OPs) at national and/or regional level for 2014-2020;

• Programmes

managed by "Managing Authorities" (MAs) at national/regional level. Often national

• r

regional Ministry for finance/economy/regional development;

• Member States alone select and implement projects in line with

priorities of the OPs (principle of 'shared management'). However, 'major projects', i.e. investments with total eligible costs over € 50 million / € 75 million (depending on investment field), are submitted and approved by the Commission;

• Overall co-financing rates between 50% (more developed) and 85%

(less developed regions);

• Different rates for 'revenue-generating' projects.
• EU funds always complemented by national, regional, financial

institutions (e.g. EIB) funds.

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Example of an ex-ante conditionality

Thematic Objective Investment priorities Ex-ante conditionality Criteria for fulfilment

• Nr. 4 Supporting

the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors

• […]
• […]
• promoting the

production and distribution

• f energy derived

from renewable sources

• […]
• […]
• Actions have

been carried out to promote the production and distribution

• f renewable

energy sources

• […]
• […]
• A national

renewable energy action plan (consistent

with Article 4 of Directive 2009/28/EC)

adopted by the MS;

• […]

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Investments in Sustainable Energy in 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy

Supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors – 5 investment priorities proposed:

a) Promoting the production and distribution of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) b) Promoting EE and RES use in SMEs c) Supporting EE and RES use in public infrastructures and in the housing sector d) Developing smart distribution systems at low voltage levels e) Promoting low-carbon strategies for urban areas

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Investments in Sustainable Energy in 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy

"Supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors" – Discussions in the Trilogue on fine-tuning of wording and possible further investment priorities:

• Separate investment priorities on research and

innovation in low-carbon technologies and on high- efficiency co-generation of heat and power

• Support also to large enterprises in this area
• Low-carbon strategies for all types of territories, and

inclusion of urban mobility

Exact levels for ERDF concentration also discussed!

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Indicative actions for Investments

• Innovative renewable energy technologies, in particular

technologies mentioned in the SET-Plan and in the Energy Roadmap 2050, along with 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels

• Supporting marine-based renewable energy production
• Investment in the wider use of Energy Performance

Contracting in the public buildings and housing sectors

• Energy efficiency and renewable heating and cooling in

public buildings, in particular demonstration of zero-emission and positive-energy buildings, and deep renovation of existing buildings to beyond cost-optimal levels

• EE and RES in SMEs, including information campaigns
• Integrated low-carbon strategies and sustainable energy

action plans for urban areas, including public lighting systems and smart grids

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Implementation Principles – Energy

• Mainly private sector investment. Ensure that public funding

complements private investment, leveraging it;

• Financial instruments to be used where potential for private

revenue or cost savings is large;

• For infrastructure investment, grants to be used primarily:
• to address market failures;
• to support innovative technologies;
• to support investments beyond cost-optimal EE

performance: ensure energy savings and Green House Gas emission reductions above "business as usual"!

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Links to Research and Innovation for Sustainable Growth

• Future Cohesion Policy: Ex-ante conditionality
• n 'National or regional research and

innovation strategies for smart specalisation' ("RIS3")

• Research & Innovation (R&I) needed in the

area of sustainable energy

• A number of MS and regions expected to

include energy R&I in forthcoming strategies

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• Guide issued in

November 2012

• How to integrate eco-

innovation, RES, EE… in the Research & Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation ("RIS3")

• Why it makes sense
• What authorities &

stakeholders can do

• Collection of good

practices

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Potential final beneficiaries worth paying attention to:

1. Publication of the new Regulations. 2. Publication of the Funds related National documents (e.g. strategies, eligibility rules, PAs, OPs, etc.). 3. Whether their investment plan fit in the any of the 11 thematic objectives. 4. Whether their investment plan fit in the MS PA/OPs

• bjectives, priorities.

5. Whether their investment plan contains eligible types of components (works, services, equipment, etc.). 6. Not underestimating the resources needed (financial, human, time) for a successful project cycle. 7. Future calls of interest, public procurement announcements by the MS.

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More information

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Expert Evaluation Network reports on RES and EE in housing: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information/evaluations/index_en.cfm#1 Commission proposals for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/what/future/proposals_2014_2020_en.cfm List of Cohesion Policy funds Managing Authorities: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/manage/authority/authority_en.cfm Smart specialisation platform: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

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