Energy renovation of residential buildings remains one of the most important priorities in the energy efficiency sector in Greece and thus continues to be monitored and supported by SMAFIN activities.

As a flagship programme in the sector, the “Save 2021” subsidised by the Recovery and Resilience Fund will be part of the 1st thematical session. The programme, which aims at improving the energy class of households, by at least 3 energy categories (over 30% Primary Energy Saving) will present the results of the last cycle, insights regarding problems in implementation, and proposals for improvement.

With a view to contributing to the implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan– NECP as well as the “Save 2021” programme and investigating their possible combination, the One Stop Shop (OSS) concept has been among the main discussion topics since the first SEIF organisation. The concept is coming more into the scene as currently, the two related, to the buildings’ energy performance, directives are under revision. Trying to meet the climate targets and face the high-energy prices, policymakers propose to increase the role of instruments including the One Stop Shop as referred to in the adopted European Parliament’s position on the revised energy efficiency directive (EED).

During SMAFIN’s lifetime, OSS has been presented extensively through best practices, discussed with stakeholders, elaborated as a policy recommendation by the project team, enhanced during the working group meetings, and finally will be validated during the final SMAFIN roundtable discussion.

The main topics of the discussion in this session will be:

• Proposals for further upgrading of the “Save 2021” programme.
• Main barriers and opportunities for the implementation of the presented One-Stop-Shop model in Greece.
• Proposals for the sustainability of the presented OSS model.
• Conditions for the financial sector to facilitate private investment through One Stop Shops.
• Implementation of One-Stop-Shop in municipalities.

In the National Energy and Climate Plan– NECP it was foreseen that specific financial mechanisms will be designed to strengthen the implementation of measures to improve energy efficiency in the industrial sector through Energy Performance Contracts, such as subsidising borrowing costs and facilitating access to financing for Energy Services Companies. Up to now, there has not been any progress in this sector so CRES has undertaken the preparation of a guidance note for improving the energy efficiency of industrial units in the Prefecture of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

In this direction, the 2nd parallel session will be dedicated to financing energy efficiency in industry where both the main challenges and the main financing mechanisms will be discussed with the participants.

The main topics of discussion in this session will be:

• The main challenges for industrial units to implement energy efficiency interventions.
• Securing finance for industrial units from the banking sector.
• The role of energy service companies in promoting energy efficiency in the industrial sector
• The most effective approach to designing a potential programme to promote energy efficiency in the industry.

The design and implementation of the energy efficiency auctions measure were 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 potentials, such as the industrial and tertiary sectors.

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 was presented during the first SMAFIN RT for an informal consultation. Moreover, the legislative framework for the implementation of the energy efficiency auctions was adopted through Law 4843/2021 (Article 20), while recently the Ministry of Environment and Energy assigned a study for the preparation of the tender documents. It is expected that the first round will be launched in autumn aiming to improve energy efficiency in companies in the tertiary sector.

The topic will be presented and discussed in the 3rd parallel session based on the following questions:

• What are the main challenges for the conduction of energy efficiency auctions?
• What can be improved in the presented tender document for 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?
• What can be the role of Energy Services Companies in facilitating energy efficiency auctions and grouping small individual projects?