Loan (Eko Fund)
Updated: 14.02.2019
Author: Saša Rajković
The Environmental Fund of the Republic of Slovenia (Eko sklad) awards low-interest loans to renewable energy projects (§ 7 Statute of the Eco Fund) through tendering (chapter II § 2 Terms and Conditions of the Eco Fund). At the moment (December 2018) there are three public calls open for loans in the field of RES-E. The current calls for applications subsidise, inter alia, the investment in modern devices for electricity generation (Call No. 59OB17), the reconstruction and renovation of renewable energy plants. It applies to local communities (Call No. 60LS17), residents which are owners or co-owners of buildings or parts of building where the investment will be carried out (Call No. 59OB17) and corporations (Call No. 56PO16).
Eligible technologies
All renewable energy generation technologies are eligible for soft loans (i.e. low-interest loans) or loan guarantees (chapter III § 3 Terms and Conditions of the Eco Fund).
| Wind energy | Eligible. |
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| Solar energy | Eligible. |
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| Geothermal energy | Eligible. |
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| Biogas | Eligible. |
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| Hydro-power | Eligible. |
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| Biomass | Eligible. |
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Amount
The amount of credit must be determined in line with the provisions of § 11 of the Terms and Conditions of the Eco Fund. According to these provisions, the amount of credit depends on the following factors:
- the amount of eligible costs,
- the type of investment,
- the evaluation of the environmental criteria,
- the credit rating of the eligible party and the debt insurance,
- the total budget available for a specific call, as defined in the public call document, and the relevant state aid and "de minimis" limits.
MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNT
The calls currently open provide respectively a total of € 6 million for residents (Call No. 59OB17), € 5 million for corporations (Call No. 56PO16) and 5 million for local communities (Call No. 60LS17).
PERIOD
The maximum credit period is 10 years for private individuals – residents (item 3 par. D) b) Call No. 59OB17) and 15 years for environmental investments (Call No. 56PO16 and Call No. 60LS17).
INTEREST RATE
The minimum interest rate for residents and corporations is the three-month EURIBOR rate plus 1.3 percentage points (item 3 par. D a) Call No. 59OB17, item 4 § a) Call No. 56PO16). For local communities, the minimum interest rate corresponds to the three-month EURIBOR rate plus 1.0 percentage points (item 4 a) Call No. 60LS17).
Addressees
Entitled party: All natural persons whose place of residence is in Slovenia and legal persons are eligible (chapter III § 4 Terms and Conditions of the Eco Fund).
Obligated party: The obligated party is the Environmental Fund (Eko Sklad).
Procedure
Process flow | Application. Applicants shall submit their applications to the Environmental Fund of the Republic of Slovenia (Eko sklad) (chapter IV § 7 Terms and Conditions of the Eco Fund). The application form is included in the call for applications document.
Loan award. The decision on the award of a loan is based on the general provisions of administrative law (Section 6. Call No. 51OB14, § 1 ff. ZUP) and the procedure set out in the Rules on the Allocation of the Budget (§ 220 ff. RS 50/2007) According to the terms of the current calls, the Fund decides on whether or not a loan will be granted and informs the applicant of this decision within a period of 90 days.
Loan contract for private individuals. Private individuals must enter into a loan contract with the lending institution within 10 days or the latest within 60 days after the decision has been made final from the day on which the loan is granted (item 7 Call No. 51OB14). The total amount of credit is paid either as a lump sum or in two instalments by the lending bank. The first instalment is 40% of the total loan amount and is paid within 5 days from the day on which the loan contract is signed. The remaining 60% are paid within 5 work days from the day on which the applicant submits evidence that the investment has been made (item 7 Call No. 51OB14). |
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Competent authority | Environmental Fund (Eko sklad) |
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Distribution of costs
| State | The loans are funded by the national budget and voluntary donations by national and international natural persons and legal entities (Chapter IV § 14 Statute of the Eco Fund). |
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Slovenia
