Ten years after kicking off the European Local Energy Assistance, ELENA has backed 85 cities and regions with EUR 150 million in financing. The technical assistance provided by the joint EIB and European Commission initiative helped to develop projects worth nearly 6 billion euros.
ELENA supports public and private players like local or national authorities, energy agencies and financial institutions to plan and implement sustainable and viable energy and transport projects. It does so by providing much-needed additional staff, external expertise for energy audits or financing advice.
The initiative helps to achieve energy and cost savings while increasing the use of renewable energy sources, which will ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to ELENA hundreds of homes in northern France and Ireland save on their energy bill every year; schools in Romania and public buildings in Slovenia saw a major cut-down in their energy consumption; conventional buses in Spain were turned into hybrids and Denmark received its first light-rail line.
Earlier this year, the initiative received EUR 97 million of new funding from the European Commission to support energy efficiency in residential buildings. Project development services will focus on households and homeowner associations, with a view to increasing comfort and reducing energy bills.
During the EU Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels, EIB Vice-President in charge of Energy Andrew McDowell said at the ELENA ten year anniversary event: “The cleanest form of energy is the energy not used through energy saving investments and technologies. That’s why energy efficiency is the no brainer of climate policy. But most projects are small and need technical support for preparation and implementation. That’s why the EIB is committed to further strengthening the decade-long ELENA partnership with the European Commission.”
Original source: EIB
Published on 20 June 2019
