At its meeting of 14 June 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Recovery Fund support programme, which will provide support for the improvement of energy efficiency of multi-apartment houses and for the transition to the use of renewable energy source technologies. The new support programme is currently being coordinated with the European Commission.
It is no secret that most of the residential fund in Latvia was built long ago, so investments are needed to improve its quality and, in particular, to improve its energy efficiency. The energy consumed by households constitutes 30% of the entire energy sector, therefore, the buildings sector includes considerable potential in the achievement of common energy efficiency targets. By taking energy efficiency measures for houses as well as switching to renewable energy technologies, apartment owners improve their living conditions and reduce costs of utility bills, as well as improve the value of their property,” the Minister of Economics Ilze Indriksone says.
Support for energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy in multi-apartment residential houses will be available to the population within the support programme. The support will be provided in the form of a combined financial instrument consisting of a loan or a guarantee, a capital discount for partial repayment of the principal amount of the loan, and support for the preparation of the technical documentation.
If a project achieves at least 30% of primary energy savings, it shall get a capital discount of up to 49% of the eligible costs of the project. The principal amount of the loan will be reduced by the amount of the capital discount.
The support can be used for the costs related to improving the energy efficiency of a multi-apartment house and switching to renewable energy technologies – for the performance of construction works in building enclosures and common use premises, including for the replacement of windows and doors, construction works in cellars and attics; renewal, reconstruction or creation of civil engineering systems of a multi-apartment residential house, including ensuring individual heat metering. The renewal of engineering systems includes the renewal of heating systems and ventilation; the purchase and installation of technological equipment for the production of micro-generation energy to ensure the production of energy for self-consumption from renewable energy sources and the supply of energy for self-consumption; for the author supervision and construction supervision of the project, for covering project management costs.
Like the previous support programme for the renovation of multi-apartment buildings, the support programme will be implemented by the Financial Institution Altum. The total amount of funding for the programme is 57,282,000 euro, which comes from the Recovery Fund.