Development and market roll-out of innovative energy services and financial schemes for sustainable energy

Specific challenge: The public sector has an exemplary role to play (in particular as regards the management of public assets) in addressing the market deficiencies^[1] by setting the stable regulatory environment and engaging in dialogue with the key stakeholders to improve the legal and financial framework and to put in place innovative financing schemes. However, the deployed public funds have to be matched and multiplied by the private sector capital, to address the financing gap.

The energy services industry together with the financial sector also need to develop new business models in order to better monetise future energy savings and tackle new sectors to reach its potential turnover of some EUR 25 billion per year^[2].

Scope:

• Proposals focusing on the roll-out of business models for innovative energy efficiency services (e.g. energy performance contracting), enabling to fully monetise the resulting energy savings.
• Proposals replicating successful innovative financing solutions already implemented across the EU as well as successful innovative energy services. Particular attention should be given to innovative solutions enabling aggregation, securitisation, project bundling, structuring of clearing houses, or developing new investment mechanisms (e.g. crowd-funding for sustainable energy).
• Proposals implementing large-scale capacity building for public authorities and SMEs to set-up or use innovative financing schemes for sustainable energy.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 1 and 1.5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected impacts: Every million Euro of EU support invested into the relevant activitiesis expected to deliver savings of at least 25 GWh/year. All proposals should demonstrate a significant impact in terms of larger investments made by stakeholders in sustainable energy; primary energy savings; generated renewable energy; better implementation of energy-efficiency policies; number of policy makers influenced; number of people with increased skills; and/or number of people changing their behaviour.

Type of action: Coordination and Support Actions

[1] Energy Efficiency Plan, 2011 (COM(2011)109 final) and Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU

[2] JRC 2007, EEP