Social Energy Renovations: Maximizing social impact and boosting clean energy investments in the non-profit sector through de-risking, aggregation, and capacity building

Project Information

SER

Grant agreement ID: 101024254

DOI

10.3030/101024254

Project closed

EC signature date 26 April 2021

Start date 1 May 2021

End date 31 January 2025

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 1 794 422,50

EU contribution

€ 1 794 422,50

Coordinated by

GLOBAL NEW ENERGY FINANCE SL
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SER (Social Energy Renovations: Maximizing social impact and boosting clean energy investments in the non-profit sector through de-risking, aggregation, and capacity building)

Reporting period: 2021-05-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In Europe, the non-profit sector employs 28 million full-time workers engaged in education, research, housing, counselling, workforce training and other social activities. The sector remains underserved by the financial industry, making it challenging to obtain funding to undertake clean energy investments. To address this issue, SER brings together 8 organizations from 4 EU countries to maximise social impact by boosting clean energy investments in the non-profit sector. SER intends to consolidate and implement an innovative operational hub (the SER-HUB) that will offer full technical and financial assistance to NPOs in deploying clean energy projects, including the design and set-up of a de-risking mechanism (guarantee structure) to support the projects. The goal of SER is to foster sustainable (energy efficiency and renewable energy) renovations in the non-profit sector in Italy by removing financing and technical barriers, and then exploring their replication in Bulgaria and France. Through this scheme, social enterprises gain access to affordable sustainable renovations, coupled with technical assistance, and a comprehensive impact assessment.

SER is positioned to strengthen social enterprises and generate more than 200M in clean energy investments over the course of 5 years after the project, translating into nearly 3,000 jobs, 893 tons of CO2 emissions saved and massive social impact involving energy poverty mitigation, improving social equality, health, wellbeing, productivity, financial literacy, and overall social cohesion. The initial focus is on Italy, with further replication foreseen in Bulgaria and France, and exploratory efforts in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. SER Consortium represents an ideal mix of partners including a specialized lender, a financing and de-risking advisory, social impact experts, an energy agency and local replicators in Bulgaria and France. SER strengthens the non-profit sector – a key driver in achieving a just and fair clean energy transition and a post-COVID-19 recovery.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SER’s partners have been working on different topics to ensure the consolidation of the SER HUB and its different components as soon as possible. In this sense, strong efforts have been put in place not only to consolidate the proposed innovative operational hub, but also to build a strong pipeline of projects, engage TSOs on energy retrofitting projects, and design technical apps to overcome common technical issues, among others.

- Milestones achieved duiring this reporting period(no milestone missed at the time of this report):

MS1: A guarantee structure is designed and funded.
MS2: Platform is operational and ready to be tested by CGM
MS3: SERVICE4Impact app launched.
MS4: Establishment of standard procedure for pre-selection of projects
MS8: Communication and Dissemination Plan developed.
MS9: Finalized protocol for data collection for the impact assessment.

- Deliverables submitted during this reporting period (All mandatory deliverables for this period were submitted in their final version, except for 3 which were submitted in draft form):

WP1 - Coordination and Management:
D1.1 Project Handbook.
D1.2 First Progress Report.
D1.4 First Consortium meeting and Executive Board meeting report.
D1.6 Risk Assessment & Project Change report.

WP2 - Consolidation of the SER HUB as a comprehensive service to assist TSOs during the implementation of their energy transition projects:
D2.1 Report on existing Financial Instruments.
D2.2 Report from investors consultations.
D2.3 SER HUB Description and necessary standard documents.
D2.4 Report on the structure of the Guarantee Mechanism.
D2.7 Memorandum of Understanding, with executive summary in English.
D2.8 Contract models relating to the SER HUB with an executive summary in English.

WP3 - Technical Assistance: Training and Community Development:
D3.1 Report on the assessment of the building stock and its energy consumption.
D3.2 Report with the map of relevant stakeholders.
D3.3 Guideline with Standardized Procedure for Pre-Selection of Projects and Executive Summary in English.
D3.4 Engagement Plan.
D3.6 Digital SERVICE4Impact app for the pre-audit of nonprofit buildings.
D3.7 Brochures, booklets and other printed and online information/training materials (Draft).

WP4 - Pipeline Build-up & Project Implementation:
D4.1 Report on project identification and analysis.
D4.2 REN4Impact specification report.
D4.3 REN4Impact software delivery report.
D4.4 Description of processes for project origination and pipeline build-up (In draft format during this reporting period. The final version was delivered before the presentation of this report).
D4.7 Standard communication and stakeholders' involvement plan.

WP5 - Impact Assessment and Monitoring
D5.1 Stakeholder matrix & list of identified KPIs in excel.
D5.2 Report on social, economic and environmental impact integration into financing instrument (In draft format during this reporting period. The final version was delivered before the presentation of this report).


WP6 - Replication and Scaling:
D6.1 Standard Replication Toolbox.

WP7 - Communication and Dissemination
D7.1 Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Plan with a review every 6 months.
D7.2 Data management plan with a review every 6 months.
D7.3 Exploitation Plan with a review every 6 months.
D7.4 First report on communication tools and actions taken at the Italian level.
D7.5 First report on communication tools and KPIs at the European level.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The SER project holds significant importance for NPOs due to its inception and subsequent initiatives aimed at addressing the energy transition challenges. Collaborative efforts highlighted that TSOs constitute the bedrock of the welfare state, yet often struggle with ageing, energy-intensive buildings and insufficient resources for energy requalification.

With the introduction of the SuperBonus, the focus shifted to using it to support these efforts, enabling TSOs to make energy investments they couldn't otherwise afford. In particular, SER partners advocated for legislative changes to facilitate TSOs' access to tax relief in Italy. Looking ahead to the imminent expiry of these incentives (2025), SER's pioneering efforts underline the continued need for targeted financial support and position the SER HUB as a key model for shaping the future of the TSOs in Italy.

Moreover, the SER's goals align seamlessly with the TSOs' concerns about community assets. By integrating educational components and fostering environmental awareness within their governance framework, SER initiatives are catalysing a paradigm shift, encouraging stakeholders to look beyond traditional performance metrics and confront the environmental impact of their real estate portfolios.

In doing so, the health and working conditions of third-sector workers will improve, enabling them to dedicate more time to improving the social welfare of their communities. In addition, their contributions aimed at helping local vulnerable citizens will aid in post COVID-19 recovery and improve economic conditions locally. Throughout the development of the project, it is expected that local job markets will be stimulated and many new jobs will be created in the renovation industry. Lastly, progress and completion of the project are foreseen to result in an increase in renewable energy generation and a decrease in carbon emissions,.

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