Subsidies up to 50% for replacement are not "green" equipment for business – who can get

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Announcement of the program of the Ministry of Environment and Energy published “Replacement of equipment for business” with a budget of 105.6 million euros.

The initiative is being implemented as part of the campaign “Savings – Doing Business” with support from the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

Purpose of the program

A preliminary publication of the program is posted on the official website of the ministry. The application deadline will be determined in an announcement expected to be signed soon by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Theo Skylakakis, and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Nikos Papathanasis.

The goal of the program is to increase the energy efficiency of enterprises, reduce primary energy consumption and, accordingly, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 30% for each enterprise. In this regard, beneficiary enterprises will receive assistance for the installation of energy efficient equipment, including:

• Heating systems using heat pumps (including solar thermal systems to improve the efficiency of heat pumps and through heat storage).
• Intelligent metering of energy consumption (behind the network meter).
• Other energy saving measures, through the installation of energy efficient equipment and systems to save energy during production, storage, distribution of products, as well as during the operation of enterprises.

Beneficiaries

The program is intended for existing enterprises – small, including micro, medium and large, operating in Greece with a Greek VAT number, valid on the date of application for participation and established before 12/31/2023.

Such businesses will be able to submit one application for financing using one tax ID number. In addition, they must have the 1st energy performance certificate (EPC – or energy audit, if required depending on the cost category) of the investment object or submit it within 20 days from the date of submission of the preliminary application for participation.

Amount of assistance

The exact amount of assistance will be determined taking into account the size of each enterprise, the rate of assistance and the maximum budget of eligible costs (without exceeding the de minimis cumulation limit established EU 2831/2023).

In particular, for energy efficiency improvements, small businesses will be able to apply with a maximum eligible expenditure budget of €20,000. The assistance rate is set at 50%, so they will be able to receive up to 10,000 euros. Medium and large enterprises can apply with a maximum expenditure budget of EUR 25,000. In this case, the assistance rate will be 40%. Accordingly, these businesses will also be entitled to assistance of up to €10,000.

Allowable expenses

Each funding application is for assistance with:

1. equipment costs:

• purchasing a new heating system using heat pumps
• purchasing a new solar heating system
• purchase of smart energy meters (behind the network meter)
• other energy saving measures.

2. cost of services:

• carrying out additional work necessary for the installation of new equipment (for example, costs of transportation, installation, configuration of new equipment – heat pump, solar thermal system, solar heating system, smart meter, etc.)
• issuance of two ΠΕΑ for the installation to implement the investments stated in the application
• conducting an energy audit (before and after the start of investment, in accordance with the ΠΕΑ procedure), which is only permissible if there are expenses in the category “Other energy saving measures”.

It should be noted that the equipment purchased must be modern, new, unused and owned by the company. Equipment is not subject to VAT, as are the costs of maintenance and repair of equipment already in use by the company. Costs begin on the date of publication of the detailed program notice and end on the date of investment based on the integration decision.

The implementation period for each application should not exceed 6 months from the date of its approval in the program.

Submitting applications

Businesses wishing to participate in the program “Changing a device for business”after activating the program, submit applications for financing through the online platform (https://exoikonomo-epixeiro2023.gov.gr). The program will use the First in-First out assessment method.

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