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The Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, through the Catalan Energy Institute (ICAEN), has extended by 44 million euros the line of aid for energy savings and efficiency in the industry With this extension, the line increases its endowment to 150 million euros since its launch in 2019, of which it has already awarded 89. To date, these grants have generated an induced investment of 444 million euros spread over 736 projects. This last increase in the budget will make it possible to attend to those requests that had remained on the waiting list and also new requests.
These figures were given by the Minister for Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, David Mascort i Subirana, during the opening session of the IN 2023 course, the seminars on energy management in industry organized by ICAEN. "Catalonia is one of the main industrial regions in Europe and wants to continue to be so. To achieve this, we must bet on generation, savings and energy efficiency as elements to improve industrial competitiveness", Mascort assured. The councilor has insisted on the need to advance in the electrification of all possible consumption, in the technological improvement of industrial processes or in the commitment to self-consumption to "make the energy transition in the industrial sector".
The grants are intended to encourage investment in productive and auxiliary equipment - equipment renewal, innovation in production processes, etc. - and the installation of energy management systems. The objective is to generate savings and energy efficiency in the manufacturing industry, reduce energy consumption and the volume of emissions, and increase competitiveness. These actions also contribute to revitalizing the energy equipment and services sector, such as engineering, installers or manufacturers, among others. Along with the budget expansion, the validity of the line has also been extended until June 30, 2024 or until resources are exhausted.
This will be the third expansion of the budget for this line of aid, which demonstrates the dynamism of Catalan industry and the direct relationship between sustainability and competitiveness. The initial allocation of €48.7 million received almost 400 requests, which added up to a requested aid amount of €75 million and therefore exceeded the available budget. To attend to all the requests received and encourage new ones, the budget was increased by 35 million euros in 2021, and an additional 25 million was added in 2022. To date, 705 projects have attended these two extensions for a requested amount of aid of 87 million euros, which had generated a new waiting list which, with the last extension of 44 million euros, will be covered.
The line's financial endowment comes from the National Energy Efficiency Fund, set up with contributions from the electricity tariff - that is, from consumers - and created at the behest of the European Union in order for the states to contribute to the energy transition. In Catalonia, the ICAEN is the body responsible for managing them and for receiving and evaluating applications from companies.
Savings and energy efficiency, fundamental axis of the energy transition.
Savings and energy efficiency are one of the fundamental axes of the transition that Catalonia is experiencing towards a new, cleaner, sustainable, fair and democratic energy model. The Energy Outlook of Catalonia 2050 estimates that, in order to achieve the decarbonisation of the Catalan energy system, it will be necessary to reduce the final energy consumption by 30.3% until the year 2050. 70.9% of the gas emissions that cause the greenhouse effect and 85.8% of CO2 emissions are related to the energy sector.
In Catalonia, industry is the second largest consumer of energy, with 27% of total final energy. With the aim of decarbonising the manufacturing sector and making it more competitive, the Generalitat has launched different support and aid programs for energy savings and efficiency specific to this area. In addition to this line, it has also opened aid programs both for self-consumption and storage with renewable energy sources and for the implementation of thermal systems based on renewable energies, and has launched campaigns both advice as well as awareness raising and dissemination of good practices, among others.
Source: gencat