20.09.2021.
Information and education workshops on the energy renovation of houses were held today in Nedelišće, Bjelovar, Koprivnica, and Varaždin. After the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund launched the Public Call on 15 September, keen interest in the programme continued. The workshops were attended by interested citizens, energy auditors, and contractors who wanted to learn about the conditions for co-financing and details about the concrete implementation of projects.The mayor of Municipality Nedelišće, Nikola Novak, thanked the Fund on their cooperation thus far on different environmental and energy efficiency projects, saying he believed that many of his fellow citizens would apply to this call. “We have received numerous queries on this subject, so we are glad that this workshop is held in our Municipality, allowing our citizens to learn first-hand about the terms and conditions of the Public Call,” said Novak.
The head of the Energy Efficiency Sector, Maje Rajčić, and the head of the Department for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, Mladen Ilijević, who held presentations at the workshops, said that the Fund had allocated HRK 300 million for the co-financing programme, envisaging the measures such as thermal insulation of the envelope, replacement of windows, and the installation of the renewable energy systems, including PV power plants. Thermal insulation of the building envelope or a comprehensive energy renovation will be co-financed with up to 60% for the houses in the energy category D or lower in continental, or C or lower in coastal Croatia. The funding is also available solely for the use of renewable energy sources, either for the heating systems or electricity generation. However, these funds are available only for the houses in the energy category C or higher, or B or higher in the continental and coastal part of Croatia respectively, the grant amounting to 40, 60 or 80%, depending on the location.
The citizens can get the incentive of up to 204 thousand kunas, depending on the energy efficiency measures they decide to implement. The mayor of Varaždin, Neven Bosilj, who participated in the workshop, announced that the City of Varaždin would also participate in the energy renovation programme by co-financing the project with the additional 15000 kunas. “We want to make it easier for our citizens to invest in projects like these because we are aware of the benefits this programme brings, from both environmental and financial aspects,” said Bosilj.
The conditions for co-financing and the required documentation are almost the same as last year, as well as the online application process. During the workshop, the employees of the Fund explained the application terms and conditions in detail, and each of the required documents. They also demonstrated to the participants the navigation through the e-Applications system to fully familiarise them with the process.
The submission of the requests for co-financing starts on 14 October at 9:00. By then, interested citizens have to create their user accounts so that they could log in, fill in the application form, and upload the necessary documentation. The Fund advised the participants who already had the documentation ready and waiting to obtain new quotes from the contractors. They explained that these quotes were only informative, and it was possible to change the contractor later on. On the other hand, documents such as energy audit report and energy performance certificate are valid for several years and it is not necessary to have them drawn up again if there were no additional construction works on the house.
To simplify the application process as much as possible, especially for those who are not very tech-savvy, the Fund will co-finance expert assistance with up to 500 kn, and the amount will be paid together with other energy renovation costs, based on an invoice or service contract.
All participants were happy with the information they gathered hoping to be successful with their applications for co-financing. In case their applications are successful, they will have a 24-month period to implement the projects they planned.
“I’m so glad that the experts from the Fund visited Bjelovar to present the Public Call for the energy renovation of family houses, since many of our citizens are interested in renovating their homes to achieve energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions, which is all in line with the EU’s green policies. The town of Bjelovar also applied to the projects for co-financing energy efficiency measures and we renovated several public buildings. I hope the citizens gained useful information at the workshop, and I’m confident they will be successful in their applications,” said the mayor of Bjelovar, Dario Hrebak, who attended the workshop.
In the follow-up to the citizens’ questions, the staff from the Fund announced that the co-financing would continue the following year, explaining that the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets was working on the new Programme of energy renovation of family houses for the period until 2030.
