Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RESFARM (Developing and implementing financial instruments for the mobilisation of investments in renewable energy in the agrarian sector)
Période du rapport: 2016-03-01 au 2017-12-31
On the other hand, technological and regulatory innovations are allowing the introduction of alternative models for financing projects based on the philosophy of bank disintermediation and specialisation in specific sectors. Capital market resources can be channelled towards projects and consumers that would otherwise find it complicated to have access to traditional bank loans or would have to pay very high interest rates. These types of financial instruments, such as consumer loans and certifications in consumer debt collection, when properly designed and applied, demonstrate their ability to finance the development of renewable energy production systems on a massive scale. The adaptation of these types of financing models, based on asset aggregation in a specific context of the European agricultural sector, are dependent on the creation of technical and contractual standards which are compatible with capital market financial instruments. Moreover, these standards must be the result of the widest possible consensus among the different consumers, whether originators, investors or regulators, and they must ensure the protection of the end-users interests; the European farmers.
The promoters of RESFARM have produced a capital market financial instrument, which is specifically designed to introduce renewable energy production systems on European farms. This instrument, once implemented, will serve as a reference for promoters and investors and would enhance necessary confidence in these kinds of assets. Another important element, which has been inspired by the RESFARM project, has been the need to provide agrarian organisations with the necessary tools to advice farmers correctly on the technical and economic opportunities of renewable energy systems.
In order to facilitate the first real use of the proposed financial instrument, investors and the authorities need to be involved. For this reason a proposal for specific collaboration has been distributed to benchmark investors at a European-level. In addition, RESFARM's partners have formed a Sustainable Energy Finance Platform. This is focused on seeking institutional support for both the pool’s development and for the improvement in the framework for regulating and supporting these investments in the agrarian field. The contents of this platform are based on a thorough analysis of the regulatory framework and the relevant policies in Spain, whose main conclusions were made public in a document to this respect. This action has culminated in a real changes including new lines of public funding, which have already mobilised several million euros in investments.