progres.nrw – Energy-efficient public buildings

• Eligible applicants were municipalities, districts and municipal associations; municipal public-law organisations; private-law municipal companies more than 50% owned by municipalities or their associations; and corporations exclusively pursuing nonprofit, charitable or church purposes with the required tax-office confirmation under section 60a of the German Tax Code. Outstanding EU aid recovery orders, companies in difficulty under Article 2(18) of the EU General Block Exemption Regulation, its excluded sectors or cases, and NRW sanctions could prevent funding.
• The building and project had to be in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eligible buildings had not incorporated the requirements of the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance and had to fall within the Building Energy Act. Categories included cultural venues, libraries, sports halls and their ancillary rooms, sports swimming pools, rehabilitation baths, childcare facilities, school residential centres, youth hostels, care homes and day centres for people needing assistance, eligible adult-education institutions, and water-rescue stations on lakes or rivers. Leisure/fun pools and baths were excluded from the relevant pool categories. Municipal administrative and operational buildings and general or vocational schools were also eligible; these latter buildings could not be used for economic activities under EU state-aid law.
• A whole-building energy concept had to show at least a 50% reduction in primary energy demand and a future standard exceeding the Building Energy Act. Primary energy demand was assessed through energy balances for the existing and planned building, rather than a promise of lower energy bills. Individual standalone construction or technical measures were not funded. Modernised components had to meet Annex 1 heat-transfer limits; where individual limits could not be met, its alternative mean limits for component groups were available. Unmodernised components had to reach the corresponding legal reference-building standard. The energy concept had to address improvements to both the building’s exterior, such as walls, roof and windows, and its technical systems. It also had to consider renewable energy, smart energy systems and making energy use in different parts of the building visible. It had to contain at least the Annex 2 information, covering the building, measures, energy performance, costs and timetable.
• Buildings had to remain in the supported use for at least ten years; leased buildings required a written agreement with the owner. Planning and advice had to be independent and supplier-neutral. Specialist contractors had to carry out the renovation: work by the applicant’s own staff and material-only purchases were excluded. Legally required or authority-ordered measures were ineligible.
• Energy-concept and planning costs were supported only alongside a funded renovation. Already commissioned concepts could qualify if commissioned after 1 January 2021 and meeting Annex 2; compliant older concepts could support an application but their costs were ineligible. Solar panels and small wind generators were not funded, although they could contribute up to 10% toward the required primary-energy saving. Batteries were supported only with a new, separately funded photovoltaic installation and should be sized to consumption and/or that installation.
• EU-funded projects had to demonstrate the programme’s energy-saving, emissions, sustainability, equality and inclusion criteria, avoid significant harm to EU environmental objectives and withstand long-term climate impacts. Applicants had to consent to recurring exchanges of experience and programme data evaluation. Work had to start within nine months of notification of the award, unless the recipient could demonstrate that a late start was outside its responsibility.

Tila

ei saatavilla

Further applications cannot currently be submitted. Check the official programme page for any future announcement.

Under the published rules, the local district government was the approving authority. State-funded applications used its prescribed forms; EU-funded applications followed a published call and used EFRE.NRW.online or the prescribed written forms. Applications required an energy concept, existing/planned/reference-building energy balances, a project summary and a level-3 DIN 276 cost calculation; leased premises also needed the ten-year use agreement, and EFRE applications needed sustainability and climate-resilience information.

Apply before starting and wait for the award before binding orders, purchases or installation contracts. Planning through HOAI service phase 6, which covers preparing the award of contracts, was exempt from the premature-start rule; already incurred planning expenditure had to be fully declared with the application.