Large solar thermal systems grant

• Businesses and other economically active organizations, associations, religious institutions and Austrian municipalities can apply. Non-Austrian businesses can qualify when the investment is at a business site in Austria. Private individuals, subordinate federal offices and projects fulfilling sovereign federal tasks are excluded.
• The investment must be at least €10,000 and save at least four tonnes of CO₂ annually. It must need an incentive to proceed, rather than fulfil a legal or official order. Without the grant, recovering the eligible investment costs through operating savings must take at least three years. KPC calculates this investment payback period from eligible costs, energy prices at application and relevant operating-cost effects, such as staff-cost savings or higher maintenance costs. This test measures investment cost recovery, not repayment of the grant.
• The system must be predominantly used for business: more than 50%. KPC normally measures business area against total area, but can use relevant output or heat flows in justified cases. For mixed residential/business buildings, more than 50% of the heated gross floor area must be used for business; smaller residential shares can be included. Residential-only buildings are excluded, including through third-party finance.
• The collector supplier must hold the Austria Solar quality seal, or the collectors must have the Austrian Ecolabel for solar collectors and systems or Solar Keymark certification, or demonstrably meet the underlying criteria.
• Heat distribution within the building, electric immersion heaters, hybrid and swimming-pool collectors are excluded. The solar collectors driving cooling are eligible; the cooling machines themselves are excluded under the general cost rules. Routine repairs, replacement of failed equipment and modernization without a significant technological and environmental improvement are excluded.
• General exclusions also cover staff work performed by the applicant, individual invoices below €500, grant administration, energy-supply charges, land and site development, roads and external paving, unrelated equipment, excavated-material disposal, taxes and fees, utility connections, legal and financing costs, temporary construction works, and discounts even if unused. Costs outside the implementation period are excluded apart from permitted planning and preliminary work. Intangible services above 10% of eligible material costs are excluded.
• Agricultural projects qualify only when they are not eligible under agricultural support. An installation receiving an EAG renewable-energy tariff or investment subsidy cannot receive this grant. Additional provincial grants are possible within state-aid limits. For existing industrial or commercial installations covered by EU emissions trading, eligible environmental investment costs must not exceed €2 million; ETS installations supplying electricity or heat to third parties are excluded.
• To use the municipal business terms, the service must recover more than 50% of its costs under the European System of Accounts, keep full accounts including assets and debts, and have substantial decision-making autonomy established through a municipal council resolution. If in doubt, confirmation from the municipal supervisory authority is required.
• Leasing, hire purchase and energy-service contracting are permitted only for projects funded nationally, without EU cofinancing. Apply before signing the financing contract or ordering equipment, whichever comes first. For leasing and hire purchase, ownership must transfer to the recipient by the last payment; the payout cannot exceed payments made by final accounting, excluding interest and fees. For contracting, the applicant is the party that owns and capitalizes the equipment. If the contractor applies, both parties must qualify, the contractor must ensure the promised environmental effect throughout the grant contract, and the customer must visibly benefit from the grant. If the customer applies, ownership must transfer by the last payment and the same payout limitation applies.

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Apply online to Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC) through its solar-systems application route before the earliest binding equipment order, delivery, construction start or other irreversible investment commitment. Preliminary planning is allowed before application. Work can begin after KPC receives the application, at your own risk before a grant contract is awarded.

Submit a technical description with schedule and system diagram, a monthly solar-yield forecast, collector-certification evidence, quotations or qualified cost estimates, and construction/operating permits. Incomplete applications are rejected. The linked application rules require a bank report at an investment of €500,000 or more, also when the project is the applicant's main business activity or receives EU cofinancing; it is required even without a bank loan. For leasing or contracting, provide the contract and evidence of paid instalments. Notify KPC of project changes in writing promptly and before approval.

Complete the project within 18 months after the grant contract is issued; exceptions require technical justification. At final accounting, provide at least one comparison offer for each major component or cost item. Where related or partner companies supply equipment, KPC may require three comparison offers from independent suppliers, making four price quotes in total. Follow public procurement rules if they apply. Operate the supported installation for at least ten years and retain records for at least ten years from the award, with access for checks.

Submit the complete final-accounting form, invoices and payment evidence through the platform linked in your contract. The accounting guide requires submission within three months of the contract's completion date; the general contract also sets a limit of one year after actual completion. Costs must be paid and, where appropriate, capitalized. The total award cannot rise at final accounting. If accepted costs fall, the rate may rise only where the original award was limited by emissions savings, technical parameters or the project cap; it cannot rise where your stated need for public finance set the original limit.

If KPC selects your project for EU cofinancing, separate forms and accounting codes apply. Under ELER, obtain one price quote for orders from €1,000 to €5,000, two above €5,000 to €10,000, and three above €10,000. Related-party quotes cannot establish price reasonableness; related suppliers or overlapping ownership/control require three independent comparison offers. ELER support above €50,000 requires a permanent explanatory plaque, and above €500,000 a sign from implementation. Retain invoices for ten years from the end of the year of full payment. Under EFRE, obtain at least one independent comparison offer for every major component or cost item, including planning where the planner is related to the applicant, and retain records for at least ten years from the award.