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Attractive ecological credit for companies in Poland in 2024

by | 9 Jan, 2024 | EU Funds

Important information

The ecological credit is a non-refundable subsidy for energy efficiency improvements for entrepreneurs. Receive up to 80% subsidy for the modernisation of machinery and equipment and the installation of RES in your company.

The ecological credit is up to 80% subsidy for investments in energy efficiency and RES

The ecological credit is a grant from the EU Funds under the FENG 2021-27 programme, which can benefit both SMEs and large enterprises (small and mid cap). It is a grant aimed at improving energy efficiency, in particular by reducing the energy intensity of production processes. The call for applications is being carried out by the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK).

Do not hesitate and check your chances of receiving a grant today! PLN 1 billion 320 million is available as co-financing under the ecological credit in 2024.

Applications for funding will be available from 25 April 2024 to 25 July 2024 and from 17 October 2024 to 31 January 2025.

Kredyt ekologiczny

Who can benefit from the ecological credit?

Micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as enterprises that do not meet the definition of SMEs but qualify as small-mid caps (up to 499 employees) and mid-caps (up to 3,000 employees) from all over Poland will be able to apply for funding.

What types of projects are eligible for the ecological credit?

The main objective of the ecological credit is to finance activities that aim to increase the energy efficiency of enterprises. It will be possible to finance investments including:

    • thermo-modernisation of owned buildings – as an obligatory element of the project, if it results from the recommendation of an energy audit,
    • modernisation of already owned infrastructure, such as production lines,
    • investment in RES, if it results from the recommendation of the energy audit.

Investments planned in the project must be preceded by an energy efficiency audit indicating the needs of the enterprise in the area. The aim of the investment to be carried out will be to increase the energy efficiency of the entity by 30%, which is the minimum condition to take advantage of the ecological credit.

    • Public funding can be used for:
    • modernisation of existing machinery, equipment, production lines;
    • purchase of energy-efficient machinery, equipment, entire process lines;
    • purchase and installation of control systems to reduce energy consumption;
    • thermo-modernisation of buildings used in the company’s business activities;
    • modernisation of ventilation, air-conditioning, cooling, lighting systems;
    • renewable energy installations and equipment to store self-generated energy from renewable sources.

What support can be expected from the ecological credit?

The financing mechanism of the ecological credit is the granting of a bank credit together with an environmental bonus. The bank credit will cover 100% of the eligible investment costs.

Support will be granted in the form of an environmental bonus – a non-refundable subsidy earmarked for repayment of the capital part of the credit granted for the implementation of the investment. The amount of the bonus will be up to 80% of the eligible costs, and will be determined by the size of the enterprise, its location and the subject of the investment. The total amount that BGK plans to allocate for ecological credits under both calls for proposals in 2024 is as much as PLN 1 billion 320 million.

What are the key requirements of the ecological credit?

The enterprise must be creditworthy. An obligatory attachment to the application is an ecological credit promise or a conditional ecological credit agreement from the crediting bank.

Implementation of the project must be preceded by an energy audit, which will justify the need for and a scope of the solutions introduced. An energy audit of a thermos-modernisation project is obligatory. An energy efficiency audit is optional.

The basic condition for public support will be to achieve energy savings of at least 30% in relation to the area covered by the project.

The RES installation can only generate electricity for the applicant’s own needs to the extent that it corresponds to the demand of the company’s production processes. The capacity of the installation must be adapted to the company’s actual energy needs.

Additional requirements and project evaluation criteria will be published in the competition documentation on the website of the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) 2021-27 Programme and on the BGK website when the calls for proposals are announced.

How to apply for the ecological credit?

The basic steps in terms of applying for the ecological credit in question may look like the following:

1. Analysis of the entrepreneur’s plans and investment needs for the coming years.

2. Verification whether the subject of the planned investment project qualifies for potential funding.

3. Preliminary verification of the fulfilment of project evaluation criteria and other requirements within the call for proposals.

4. Identify potential alternative and/or additional sources of support for the project and make initial recommendations in terms of securing other forms of public support.

5. Plan the optimal package of grants and tax credits as a source of funding and support for the investment.

6. Preparation of the application documentation including obtaining the required formal documents.

7. Monitoring of the status of the application at the various stages of its assessment and preparation of responses to supplementary documentation at the formal or substantive assessment stage.

8. Signing of the grant agreement and accounting for the grant awarded throughout the investment implementation period.

The action plan is a good introduction to preparing to benefit from this public funding. In practice, many questions or doubts arise and it is crucial to prepare the best possible application documentation, as the interest in obtaining public support is always greater than the available call budget. In such circumstances, doesn’t hesitate to contact me if you need a professional advice.

Find out what I can do for you.
Get in touch with me!

g.kokoszkiewicz@incentione.pl

+48 519 511 456

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If you would like to find out more details on grants, tax credits or other topics, take a look at my blog.