Organised on the occasion of the 10 year anniversary of the ‘European Local Energy Assistance’ (ELENA) facility, we are excited to celebrate this joint initiative of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EC) under the Horizon 2020 programme, with a series of events that will take place on 20 June in Brussels. The events will focus on the achievements made during the first 10 years of ELENA, namely by presenting some of the successful projects supported to date.
Scheduled to take place during the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) in Brussels, these events are of interest to those who are keen on learning about ELENA best practices and lessons learnt, the main achievements of the facility as well as an outlook into the future.
Celebration! A half-day conference and reception
In the afternoon of Thursday 20 June 2019, the EIB in close cooperation with the EC, is organising a half day conference entitled “10 YEARS OF ELENA - supporting investments in energy efficiency and sustainable transport” to mark the 10 year anniversary of ELENA.
During the political opening session, high-level representatives from the EIB and the EC will provide participants details of their experiences related to the implementation of energy efficiency investment in Europe. The second panel session includes an interactive discussion between the panellists on their lessons learnt and expectations for the future.
The full programme is available here. To attend this event, please register online. For any questions, contact events@eib.org
Join us on 20 June from 15.30 to 18.30 at the Sofitel Europe in Brussels.
Other events happening in Brussels:
EIB at the Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW)
From 18 to 20 June 2019, the EIB is actively participating in the Policy Conference of EUSEW, the biggest European conference dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe.
On the morning of Thursday 20 June, the EIB is speaking in the session “10 years of ELENA: grants to overcome barriers for sustainable energy investments” scheduled to take place from 9.00 to 10.30. This session will show how the ELENA (European Local Energy Assistance) facility can help in the development of energy investments, namely by bridging the gap between local and regional energy targets and project implementation and overcoming the existing technical and organisational barriers.
More information on this session can be found here.
BACKGROUND ON ELENA
Earlier this year, it was announced that the ELENA facility has been allocated EUR 97 million of new funding from the European Commission for its envelope dedicated to residential buildings. This budget aims to support project development services for energy-efficiency investments in privately and publicly owned housing. The European Investment Bank (EIB), which stands at the core of the implementation of ELENA, will provide assistance and expertise and act as the point of contact.
Since the creation of the facility 10 years ago, more than 80 beneficiaries have received financial support of over EUR 160 million, mobilising about EUR 6 billion in investments. ELENA’s support in carrying out these investments will lead to energy and cost savings, while increasing the use of renewable energy sources in buildings, which will ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
ELENA is led by a team of experts consisting of engineers and economists with extensive experience in the energy sector and transport. The facility provides grants for technical assistance focused on the implementation of energy efficiency, building integrated renewable energy and urban transport programmes. The grants can be used to finance costs related to feasibility and market studies, programme structuring, business plans, energy audits and financial structuring, as well as for the preparation of tendering procedures, contractual arrangements and project implementation units.
You can learn more about the application procedure for ELENA here and our key projects here.
Latest press release on ELENA here.