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EFSI to enhance Europe's Energy Union

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of the investment plan for Europe, or the so-called Juncker plan, will help European energy projects access long term financing, thus to enhance the Energy Union in Europe, the European Commission said in a latest statement.

EFSI, eyeing early autumn launch, was designed to mobilizing 315 billion euros (about 356 billion U.S. dollars) worth of investment over the coming years.

This will be crucial for Energy Union, an ambitious project needing significant investment, the European commission said, noting that over 1 trillion euros may be needed for the energy sector by 2020.

"By 2030, we must improve our energy efficiency by at least 27 percent. And hopefully more, as I will work hard to go beyond the at least 27 percent figure," Miguel Arias Canete, European commission in charge of Climate Action and Energy, said.

"But for that to happen we need to boost energy efficiency investment in Europe," he added.

"EFSI can be a driver to plug the investment gap needed in Europe's energy transition to become the world's most energy-efficient economy," the commissioner said.

According to the statement, investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and strategic infrastructure projects, such as gas and electricity grids, will be a key priority.

For the energy efficiency sector, more than 100 billion euros will be invested every year to achieve the 2030 energy efficiency target, 89 billion euros in energy efficiency measures in buildings and some 19 billion euros to improve energy efficiency in industry.

"I'm very encouraged to see that the fund is already supporting strategic energy efficiency projects, and that many more low-carbon projects are in the approval pipeline," the commissioner said.

Five out of nine already approved EFSI projects in the infrastructure field relate to energy, the statement said.

In France, the fund financed a project to promote energy efficiency in the French housing. By improving the insulation of the buildings involved as well as renovating their heat generation, ventilation and distribution systems, the project will cut energy bills in more than 40,000 homes.

In Denmark, EFSI backed the creation of a Renewable Energy Fund; in Spain, it gave a long-term loan to a gas grid project and lent money for research and development activities of a renewables-oriented technology company.

In Finland, it financed improvements in industrial processes of a Finnish pulp mill.

Meanwhile, under EFSI, project promoters will receive the technical assistance they need to successfully prepare and financially structure their investments, the European commission said. Enditem