The Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Science, through the Andalusian Energy Agency, has approved a modification of the Order of Subsidies for Sustainable Energy Development 2009-2014 (Subsidies Program A +) that allows the granting of subsidies to energy projects related to the protection of the environment, in the agro-industrial sector and gives continuity to the aid to the actions in the field of sustainable mobility, giving them greater relevance.
In a note, the public entity explains that the other fundamental novelty of the text is the extension of simplified management, initiated in previous orders and capable of resolving subsidies in less than a month, to new types of subsidies and sectors, such as SMEs, which means gaining in processing agility and, above all, facilitate the access of citizens to the different aids provided by the Order. In addition, the inclusion of the so-called Specific Programs, aimed at specific groups, "provide the standard with greater effectiveness and visibility before citizens."
The simplification of the procedure, the reduction of requirements, the adequate orientation of the subsidies and the agility in the processing reinforce this Order as an instrument of great power not only to strengthen the business sector of renewable energies and energy saving, mostly constituted by SMEs, but to develop the Andalusian Energy Sustainability Plan 2007-2013 (Pasener) in terms of promoting the change towards a new energy culture through of responsible consumption, the value of renewability and efficiency in the use of energy in the habits of the population.
"The adoption of these measures responds to the effort of the Andalusian administration to improve the quality of its services to the citizen and at the same time obtain greater efficiency of public funds," he adds. In addition, the approved modification provides greater flexibility to the Order to adapt with agility to the technological advances of the sector and to impact on citizens and companies.
As regards companies, these new conditions eliminate requirements and enable alternative methods for the calculation of eligible costs, and the simplification of administrative procedures, which is complemented by the incorporation of subsidies for energy actions to protect the environment for companies processing and marketing agricultural products.
As a result of the amendments introduced in the text, the Subsidies Order, which includes subsidies of up to 60 percent in energy saving projects and up to 70 percent in renewable energy projects, substantially simplifies and streamlines the processing of aid, from the application to the final justification of the same.
In this sense, the simplified procedure of applications, whose processing is carried out completely by telematic means through the collaborating companies opening to the processing of subsidies for any type of beneficiary, with the exception of large companies.
Likewise, this reinforcement in the link between the Andalusian Energy Agency and the collaborating companies that process the application for subsidies through the simplified procedure will allow to extend and consolidate a productive fabric of the energy sector, one of the objectives of the Junta de Andalucía.
SPECIFIC PROGRAMS
Another novelty of the new text lies in the inclusion of the so-called Specific Projects. Under this nomenclature, the A+ Grants Programme contains energy actions aimed at citizens and SMEs in order to take greater advantage of their potential for energy saving and the use of renewable energies.
In this sense, the Prosol program deserves special attention, which continues to be one of the most relevant assets of the Order, aimed at granting aid for the incorporation of renewable energy systems and improvements in energy saving and efficiency through a simplified procedure; and the Renove Plan for household appliances and air conditioning, which has subsidies for the replacement of energy-efficient appliances with others that guarantee lower consumption rates.
In addition, the A+ Grants Program also makes an important commitment to sustainable mobility and, especially electric mobility, in Andalusian cities, giving continuity to the aid of these actions, in addition to collecting a greater range of incentivized mobility technologies (pure electric vehicles and hybrids) highlights the incorporation of these subsidies of aid to the purchase through simplified procedure (Prosol). This means that it will be the dealers who manage the request for the aid by applying the discount to the customer at the time of purchase.
BALANCE 2009-2010
The Subsidies Program for the Sustainable Energy Development of Andalusia, 'Andalucía A+', has been operational since February 4, 2009, and has an endowment of 480 million euros for subsidies in a time frame that ends in 2014. Beneficiaries of this programme may be citizens and their groups, companies - with special regard to SMEs--, as well as their groups and associations; public entities or institutions and private non-profit entities.
Since the implementation of this subsidy order until December 15, 2010, the Andalusian Energy Agency has granted under it 35,000 subsidies, which has meant a total subsidy of 85 million euros. All this has mobilized an investment of 719 million euros in renewable energy projects and energy saving and efficiency in Andalusia.
The consolidation of the simplified processing system has been one of the success factors of the call, allowing the entry of renewable energies into Andalusian homes to grow exponentially. Not surprisingly, since the entry into force of the Order, almost 30,000 subsidies have been granted to domestic installations, which has meant an investment of more than 38 million euros.
These figures have allowed to increase by almost 225,000 kilowatts the thermal power installed in Andalusia, through the incorporation of heat generation in the home from biomass energy, and by more than 52,000 square meters the solar thermal surface, favoring that Andalusia already has more than 650,000 square meters of this type of facilities. In this way, the power obtained through the installation of domestic renewable energy systems will avoid the emission of 130,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere per year. (EUROPA PRESS)
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