European City Facility – First call for applications is open

The European City Facility supports municipalities (local authorities) and their groupings from the EU-27 and the UK in developing investment concepts for sustainable energy. The first call for applications has just been launched! Deadline to submit a proposal is 2 October 2020.

The initial duration of the call (2 months) has been extended due to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Investment concepts (pre-feasibility studies) such as market-barrier analysis, local stakeholder analysis, legal- and governance analysis, serve the identification of potential project pipelines. As a basic financing strategy and a roadmap for implementation, these investment concepts represent an initial step towards a fully-fledged business and financial plan.

The EUCF simple and transparent application process allows municipalities to respond to the call within the limits of their resources. Throughout the entire application process, municipalities will be supported by country experts in their language.

Successful applicants will benefit from capacity building and peer learning activities for developing sound investment packages and receive financial aid of up to EUR 60,000.

Funding sources for financing these strategies may subsequently derive from the private sector (development banks, commercial banks, etc.), national investment platforms but also from other EU-funded programmes, such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF), Project Development Assistance facilities (PDA), e.g. the ELENA facility of the European Investment Bank.

Taking into account the obstacles that small- and medium-sized municipalities are facing, such as limited human and financial resources, lack of experience and expertise in developing investment packages, and generally conservative approaches to project financing, the EUCF steps in and supports local investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Following the application period (25 May 2020 to 2 October 2020), a dedicated team of evaluators will take 2 months for evaluating the applications. This evaluation will be based on the ambition of energy saving and expected investment, as well as qualitative criteria (stakeholder engagement, governance structure, etc).

Since the ambition of both energy savings and investments may increase through the aggregation of sustainable energy projects, local authorities and their groupings are strongly encouraged to join forces and resources and submit joint applications!

For more information, please check out the guidelines for applicants on the EUCF website or download the Call for applications document.