Subsidy (Financial Incentives of the Eco Fund)
Updated: 14.02.2019
Author: Saša Rajković
The Eco Fund (Eko Sklad, Slovenian Ecological Fund) provides funding for investments in RES-H through public calls. New rounds of tenders and public calls are usually open at the beginning of the year and, based on the experiences from the past, they follow the same structure (following mostly the general administrative procedure defined in the ZUP). Currently there are 2 public calls open offering non-refundable financial incentives for RES technologies Call No. 54SUB-OB17 and Call No. 59SUB-SOCOB17.
Eligible technologies
The calls promote different technologies. Various incentive options are open for RES (such as: the installation of central heating devices that use wood biomass, distribution heating systems using wood biomass, heating pumps [water- and geothermal energy], and power plants using aerothermal technologies and solar technologies (item 1 of Call No. 54SUB-OB17 and Call No. 59SUB-SOCOB17).
Usually each technology has specific requirements that are detailed in the call document (e.g. standards the heating boiler that need to be met in order to be eligible for co- financing, the volume of the heating boiler, emission values etc.).
| Aerothermal energy | Eligible. |
|---|
| Hydrothermal energy | Eligible. |
|---|
| Biomass | Eligible. |
|---|
| Biogas |
|
|---|
| Geothermal energy | Eligible. |
|---|
| Solar thermal energy | Eligible. |
|---|
Amount
The grants for all eligible technologies are subject to a certain minimum and maximum. The specific amount of the subsidy is specified in detail for each technology and/or size of the investment or its environmental contribution and mostly given in a percentage of the investment cost and an absolute maximum. The overall financial yield of the two Calls cited in 2017 is app. € 44.9 Million. A certain amount of funds is already reserved for measures in regions with an adopted Air Quality Act (item 2 of Call No. 54SUB-OB17 and Call No. 59SUB-SOCOB17).
Addressees
The Calls are usually divided between those aiming at citizens, a specific group of citizens and calls that target corporations and legal persons registered in Slovenia. The Call No. 59SUB-SOCOB17 for example requires that the applicant (natural person) is deemed as “socially needy” by the responsible Social Welfare Office and that the applicant is a resident of a local community with an adopted Air Quality Act (item 3 Call No. 59SUB-SOCOB17).
Procedure
Process flow | - Application: The application needs to be submitted to the Eco Fund (point 7 of Call No. 19SUB-OB13 and point 7 of Call No. 18SUB-OB13). The application forms can be obtained from the website of the Eco Fund (www.ekosklad.si).
- Evaluation and decision making: Applications may be submitted as long as funds are available. The Eco Fund is obliged to follow the procedure specified in the ZUP. The principle is “first come, first served”. The Fund decides on whether or not to grant a subsidy within 90 days after the receiption of the complete application.
- Payment: The subsidy is paid out after the project has been finished and the beneficiary has presented the requested evidence for the subsidised investment.
|
|---|
Competent authority | The Slovenian Eco Fund. |
|---|
Distribution of costs
| State | The public subsidy schemes are financed from the Eco Fund budget which is financed by the RES/CHP contribution. |
|---|
Slovenia
