Periodic Reporting for period 2 - European Islands Facility NESOI (New Energy Solutions Optimized for Islands)
Période du rapport: 2021-04-01 au 2022-09-30
Funds are available to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Many islands are engaged in energy transition; however, most of them haven’t the expertise to concretely launch investments, access finance and kick start the projects.
The EU Islands Facility NESOI aims at filling this gap through a hands-on approach, unlocking the potential of EU islands to become the locomotives of European Energy Transition, mainstreaming green energy investments to an audience of more than 2.200 inhabited EU islands and giving the opportunity to implement their innovative energy technologies and approaches in a cost-competitive way.
Starting with a broad survey gathering EU islands’ needs, NESOI provides islands with both indirect and direct support:
1) a digital platform, a one-stop-shop for islands where to find ideas and effective organisational, technical and financial instruments for the whole value chain of a project and a cooperative space for project promoters, investors and technology providers;
2) a cascade mechanism based on transparent technical, social, economic and environmental criteria, to identify a short list of projects for customised technical assistance from consortium experts and external advisors.
Through its support, NESOI aims at mobilising more than 100 M€ of investment in sustainable energy by 2023, leading to 440 GWh/year primary energy savings.
The EU Islands Facility NESOI aims at filling this gap through a hands-on approach, unlocking the potential of EU islands to become the locomotives of European Energy Transition, mainstreaming green energy investments to an audience of more than 2.200 inhabited EU islands and giving the opportunity to implement their innovative energy technologies and approaches in a cost-competitive way.
Starting with a broad survey gathering EU islands’ needs, NESOI provides islands with both indirect and direct support:
1) a digital platform, a one-stop-shop for islands where to find ideas and effective organisational, technical and financial instruments for the whole value chain of a project and a cooperative space for project promoters, investors and technology providers;
2) a cascade mechanism based on transparent technical, social, economic and environmental criteria, to identify a short list of projects for customised technical assistance from consortium experts and external advisors.
Through its support, NESOI aims at mobilising more than 100 M€ of investment in sustainable energy by 2023, leading to 440 GWh/year primary energy savings.
WP1 (concluded and reported in PR1) was about the assessment of the islands’ needs for their energy transition.
About the NESOI’s digital platform and tools and facilitate the recruitment of candidate islands, the MVP version was released in M12 but the operational version has not reached yet the full maturity. So far, there is an online platform that technically-wise, is deployed to a public server and uses MySQL and MongoDB for data storage and user management. The various components communicate with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). However, delays can be registered in the development of the basic functionalities of the platform, which up to day does not allow its users to execute the full functionalities. Maturity stage shall be reached in 03-2023.
WP3 is completed. In the present reporting period, the activities were mainly related to the organization of the second open call, which was launched on 29.10.2021 and closed on 28.01.2022. 49 applications were submitted and 12 selected, including a reserve list of projects scored above the identified hreshold but not selected. The 12 selected projects cover different countries and have a variety of maturity level thanks to the selection process put in place by NESOI, which aimed at guaranteeing such result.
WP4 is in progress. 54 energy transition islands projects are supported by the NESOI technical assistance across 2 call for proposals (round 1a-1b; round 2). At the time being, 16 projects (out of the 28 supported during the round 1) are concluded, while minor delays must be reported for 12 projects. The rest of the projects are basically progressing according to the timetable. The assistance provided embraces three main aspects: Technical, Economic & Financial, Legal & Procedural. Furthermore, actions are ongoing concerning the Roadshow and Fund Matching, where supported projects will be brought to the attention of public/private financial institutions over EU.
WP5 is in progress. It developed the right grant contracts and successful negotiation with funded projects. So far, the number of signed sub-Grant Agreements is 51 out of the 54 (97%) selected beneficiaries along with the two open calls. So far, the total grant spent is 980,500 € out of the 3,120,000.00 € assigned to the beneficiaries (32%).
WP6 is in progress. The work was focused on the application of the assessment framework and collection of the related KPI from different supported projects. Currently 17 out 28 projects have delivered all or most of the requested KPIs. Rounds 1b and 2 are still ongoing, thus no KPIs have been collected. Furthermore, the WP6 performed in the identification of the best practices within the funded projects’ portfolio and suggestions on their replication in other islands.
WP7 is in progress Beside the capacity building webinars organised to prepare the second round of NESOI open call,5 webinars were organized. The ERASMUS programme, consisting in short study tours conducted with guests selected amongst NESOI beneficiaries and hosted by island organisations is ready to start.
WP8 is in progress. The social media strategy is progressing well, while 5 newsletters were published and the YouTube channel is populated with 6 videos. NESOI participated into 32 BRIDGE-related events. Additionally, one-page project briefs, developed for each of the 54 projects supported by NESOI, as soon as the subgrant agreements have been signed. Moreover, a 4-pages dedicated brochures were developed for a pool of projects (10).
About the NESOI’s digital platform and tools and facilitate the recruitment of candidate islands, the MVP version was released in M12 but the operational version has not reached yet the full maturity. So far, there is an online platform that technically-wise, is deployed to a public server and uses MySQL and MongoDB for data storage and user management. The various components communicate with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). However, delays can be registered in the development of the basic functionalities of the platform, which up to day does not allow its users to execute the full functionalities. Maturity stage shall be reached in 03-2023.
WP3 is completed. In the present reporting period, the activities were mainly related to the organization of the second open call, which was launched on 29.10.2021 and closed on 28.01.2022. 49 applications were submitted and 12 selected, including a reserve list of projects scored above the identified hreshold but not selected. The 12 selected projects cover different countries and have a variety of maturity level thanks to the selection process put in place by NESOI, which aimed at guaranteeing such result.
WP4 is in progress. 54 energy transition islands projects are supported by the NESOI technical assistance across 2 call for proposals (round 1a-1b; round 2). At the time being, 16 projects (out of the 28 supported during the round 1) are concluded, while minor delays must be reported for 12 projects. The rest of the projects are basically progressing according to the timetable. The assistance provided embraces three main aspects: Technical, Economic & Financial, Legal & Procedural. Furthermore, actions are ongoing concerning the Roadshow and Fund Matching, where supported projects will be brought to the attention of public/private financial institutions over EU.
WP5 is in progress. It developed the right grant contracts and successful negotiation with funded projects. So far, the number of signed sub-Grant Agreements is 51 out of the 54 (97%) selected beneficiaries along with the two open calls. So far, the total grant spent is 980,500 € out of the 3,120,000.00 € assigned to the beneficiaries (32%).
WP6 is in progress. The work was focused on the application of the assessment framework and collection of the related KPI from different supported projects. Currently 17 out 28 projects have delivered all or most of the requested KPIs. Rounds 1b and 2 are still ongoing, thus no KPIs have been collected. Furthermore, the WP6 performed in the identification of the best practices within the funded projects’ portfolio and suggestions on their replication in other islands.
WP7 is in progress Beside the capacity building webinars organised to prepare the second round of NESOI open call,5 webinars were organized. The ERASMUS programme, consisting in short study tours conducted with guests selected amongst NESOI beneficiaries and hosted by island organisations is ready to start.
WP8 is in progress. The social media strategy is progressing well, while 5 newsletters were published and the YouTube channel is populated with 6 videos. NESOI participated into 32 BRIDGE-related events. Additionally, one-page project briefs, developed for each of the 54 projects supported by NESOI, as soon as the subgrant agreements have been signed. Moreover, a 4-pages dedicated brochures were developed for a pool of projects (10).
In the next period, (M37-M48) the efforts of the NESOI consortium will be focused to achieve the following results:
-Full implementation and deployment of the NESOI platform
-Implementation of the projects selected in the second Call and deployment of the Technical Assistance
-Full allocation of the cascade funds to island beneficiaries
-Coaching activities for the islands’ staff, with special regard to the NESOI Erasmus for Islands (short study tours for energy managers of islands to have a deep dive into best practices)
-Improving dissemination and communication. Organization of the final conference
-Definition of the NESOI exploitation beyond the project duration
A possible short project extension, to allow the proper finalization of the round 2 projects, is currently under discussion at Consortium level.
The potential impacts are the following:
-at least 60 EU islands directly supported by NESOI
-innovation uptake by potential replicators: at least 300 potential energy transition projects in island will be identified across EU27 within the project lifetime for future funding
-activation of energy transition investments at least up to 100 M€ on islands directly supported by NESOI
-improved capacity and skills of technicians, through a training campaign aiming to involve at least 50 EU islands authorities
In a short term, in the islands participating in NESOI the following impacts are expected:
Primary energy savings: 440 GWh/year
GHG emission savings: 160 KtCO2/year
RES production: 20% island share
Investment by public authorities and project promoters in energy transition: >100 M€
The exact data to be provided by the end of the project upon conclusion of all supported projects.
Here a brief overview of the impacts identified so far:
-Primary Energy Savings: Around 1,000 GWh/year
-GHG Emission savings: Around 372,000 CO2 ton / year
The impacts reflect the completion of the first projects up to Month 36.
At social level we expect the following impacts:
NESOI will contribute to create at least 250 direct jobs and more than 1000 jobs along the 10 years period following the project (2023-2033)
NESOI will increase the quality of life on EU islands, promoting the reduction of local energy bills and enhancing local environment thanks to low carbon energy promotion and investments, lowering the de-population and migration from islands to mainland, guaranteeing the preservation of local communities and socio-economic-cultural heritage
-Full implementation and deployment of the NESOI platform
-Implementation of the projects selected in the second Call and deployment of the Technical Assistance
-Full allocation of the cascade funds to island beneficiaries
-Coaching activities for the islands’ staff, with special regard to the NESOI Erasmus for Islands (short study tours for energy managers of islands to have a deep dive into best practices)
-Improving dissemination and communication. Organization of the final conference
-Definition of the NESOI exploitation beyond the project duration
A possible short project extension, to allow the proper finalization of the round 2 projects, is currently under discussion at Consortium level.
The potential impacts are the following:
-at least 60 EU islands directly supported by NESOI
-innovation uptake by potential replicators: at least 300 potential energy transition projects in island will be identified across EU27 within the project lifetime for future funding
-activation of energy transition investments at least up to 100 M€ on islands directly supported by NESOI
-improved capacity and skills of technicians, through a training campaign aiming to involve at least 50 EU islands authorities
In a short term, in the islands participating in NESOI the following impacts are expected:
Primary energy savings: 440 GWh/year
GHG emission savings: 160 KtCO2/year
RES production: 20% island share
Investment by public authorities and project promoters in energy transition: >100 M€
The exact data to be provided by the end of the project upon conclusion of all supported projects.
Here a brief overview of the impacts identified so far:
-Primary Energy Savings: Around 1,000 GWh/year
-GHG Emission savings: Around 372,000 CO2 ton / year
The impacts reflect the completion of the first projects up to Month 36.
At social level we expect the following impacts:
NESOI will contribute to create at least 250 direct jobs and more than 1000 jobs along the 10 years period following the project (2023-2033)
NESOI will increase the quality of life on EU islands, promoting the reduction of local energy bills and enhancing local environment thanks to low carbon energy promotion and investments, lowering the de-population and migration from islands to mainland, guaranteeing the preservation of local communities and socio-economic-cultural heritage