The 1st parallel session will address ways to ensure efficient, sufficient, and diverse funding for the energy renovation of residential buildings, thus ensuring compliance with national commitments and objectives.

According to the recent report for the national long-term renovation strategy (March 2021), the target for 2030 is the upgrade of the 23% of the household building stock, respectively for 2040 the target is the upgrade of the 36% -42%, while the target for 2050 is to have upgraded the 45% -49%. The energy upgrade of residential buildings has been included in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan (April 2021) and is described in detail in pillar I – Green Transition under the second axis “Energy upgrade of the country’s building stock and spatial reform”.

The focus of the axis will also be on the new national funding scheme “I am saving – I am getting autonomous” which was released in 2020. Through this scheme, the renovation of 12-15% of buildings and/or building units is aimed to be renovated within the period 2021-2030, as a target described in the National Energy and Climate Plan that will be achieved through targeted policy measures. At the end of the summer 2021, the new programme will be announced, where different criteria will be considered while examining the applications.

The main topics of discussion that are expected to be addressed in this session are:

• What are the main challenges that have arisen from the implementation of energy upgrade programmes for residential buildings? How can these be treated?
• How will the largest equity leverage by households be ensured?
• How possible it is to improve the economic efficiency of the selected interventions?
• Do you think that the possible establishment of a one stop service (One Stop Shop) would help in the more cost-effective upgrade of the building stock? What potential problems would it be possible to solve?
• Could the gradual radical renovation and utilisation of tools – such as the Building Renovation Passports – be examined to achieve the objectives set for the residential building stock?

The session will examine financial tools that will accelerate the pace of renovations and energy efficiency investments in public buildings and infrastructure.

According to recent research conducted as part of the project on the challenges faced locally, these include lack of data on energy consumption and savings, limited funding, high initial investment costs, long repayment period and measurement difficulties, and verification of the savings achieved. The use of energy efficiency contracts and the grouping of projects could be part of the solution but at the moment, there are difficulties due to lack of experience and know-how, complexity of projects and insufficient legislation. In contrast, funding opportunities, a favourable legal framework and the activation of the local community are considered to be the main drivers for energy efficiency investments.

The first part of the session will be dedicated to the presentation of supportive funding programmes and mechanisms in public buildings, with special reference to municipal buildings. The National Energy and Climate Plan foresees the redesign of the ELECTRA programme, which concerns the financing of energy efficiency interventions in general governmental buildings, including the participation of Energy Services Companies in the implementation of the interventions through Energy Performance Contracts.

The purpose of the ELECTRA programme is to create attractive and sustainable energy upgrade investments in the building stock of public bodies, with effective leverage of funds from both the private and the public sector through the adjustment of the regulatory framework. In addition, the contribution of the upgrading of the role of energy managers of public buildings is expected, as it is added as a condition to financial programmes for energy upgrading of public buildings.

The short presentations will be followed by a discussion on the utilisation of the existing possibilities and the confrontation of the difficulties that the institutions face in filling the financial gaps. The discussion will be based on the following questions:

• What are the main challenges that have arisen from the implementation of energy upgrade programmes for public buildings? How can these be treated?
• How will the largest equity leverage by public bodies be achieved?
• How will the greater participation of Energy Service Companies be facilitated?
• How is it possible to improve the economic efficiency of the selected interventions?
• Could public- private sector contracts be used to accomplish major projects?
• Would it be appropriate to create a priority order based on existing energy consumption, so that the most energy-intensive public buildings are financed first?
• Will training activities be included to change the behaviour of the civil servants involved, so as to achieve energy savings due to behaviour change?

The design and implementation of the energy efficiency auctions measure was foreseen in the National Energy and Climate Plan. This measure is expected to focus on achieving final energy savings, making a significant contribution to achieving the objective of Article 7 of the Directive 2012/27/EU to improve energy efficiency. It will also provide financial support for energy saving technical interventions in sectors with high potential, such as the industrial and tertiary sectors.

The energy efficiency auctions areplanned to be carried out based on the economic efficiency of the interventions and with clear instructions for the calculation and verification of the energy saved. In addition, the measure will not set limits on maximum energy savings, which will be compensated by providing incentives for grouping projects and reaping the benefits of the economies of scale that will be created.

A dedicated working group was set up at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, aiming to draft a proposal for the formation of the institutional framework of competitive processes for the improvement of energy efficiency in accordance with the provisions of the National Energy and Climate Plan. The proposal reached by the working group stipulates that competitive processes can be carried out through the implementation of seven different stages.

During the session, the proposal of the Working Group will be presented in order to implement a pilot program to improve energy efficiency in companies in the tertiary sector.

A discussion will follow, based on the following questions:

• What are the prospects and challenges from the implementation of this mechanism?
• How will the financing of the companies involved be secured by the banking sector?
• What is the minimum level of concentration of interventions that can be ensured?
• Is it possible to group small individual projects? What can be the role of Energy Services Companies in this?
• Could smart online tools be used to bring together small projects and link project developers to interested investors?