The MA of OPIC 2014-2020 announces procedure of selection of projects BG16RFOP002-3.002 "Increasing energy efficiency in large enterprises"

Directorate General "European Funds for Competitiveness" - Managing Authority of Operational Programme "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020 invites those wishing to submit project proposals under Priority Axis 3 „Energy and resource efficiency“, Investment Priority 3.1 "Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency", Specific Objective 3.1. "Reducing the energy intensity of the economy" by ANNOUNCING a procedure for selection of projects:

BG16RFOP002-3.002 „Increasing energy efficiency in large enterprises“

The main objective of the procedure is to provide focused support for the large enterprises in Bulgaria to promote the implementation of energy efficiency measures in order to achieve sustainable growth and competitiveness of the economy.

The applicable state aid regime under this procedure for selection of projects is, as follows:

Under Element A the applicants under the procedure can choose among one of the applicable state aid regimes:

1) Regional investment aid according to Art. 13 and Art. 14 of Regulation (EU) № 651/2014 of the Commission of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (OB L 187 / 26.06.2014).

or

2) Investment aid for measures for increasing the energy efficiency according to Art. 38 of Regulation (EU) № 651/2014 of the Commission from June 17, 2014.

Under Element B the applicable state aid regime is „de minimis“aid according to Regulation (EC) № 1407/2013 of the Commission of December 18, 2013.

The grant procedure is funded with the support from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. The projects should be implemented on the territory of Bulgaria. The total amount of the grant under the procedure is BGN 97 791 500 (€ 50 000 000).

Eligible under the procedure are projects, including the following activities:

Element A

• Acquisition of investments for implementation of measures recommended in an energy audit according to a sample („energy efficiency study ”), drawn up for the projects selection  procedure (excluding the measures included for Implementation under element B of this procedure);

The energy audit should be conducted by a person registered in the public register of art. 60, para. 1 of the Law on Energy Efficiency. The control on the quality of the prepared energy audits will be carried out by competent external parties, which will have the necessary skills and qualifications to assess their compliance. That will be done in the process of evaluation of project proposals.

Element B

• Consultancy services for implementation and certification of energy management systems in enterprises according to standard BS EN ISO 50001 (Energy Management Systems)/EN ISO 50001;
• Acquisition of an investment project under the Law on Spatial Planning (LSP) related to and necessary for the project implementation;
• Performing construction and assembly works, directly related to and necessary for the commissioning of the assets, recommended in the energy audit;
• Acquisition of investments for implementation of measures, recommended in the energy audit, which are not requested under Element A;
• Purchase of materials, which are directly related to the implementation of the energy efficient measures, recommended in the energy audit and intended to be implemented under the project (within Element A and / or Element B of the procedure);
• Publicity and visualization;
• Audit of the project.

The submission of the project proposal under the current procedure is carried out entirely electronically by completing a web based application form and submitting the application and accompanying documents via the Unified information system for management and monitoring of the EU Structural Instruments in Bulgaria (UMIS 2020) solely using a qualified electronic signature (QES), by module „Е-application“ at the following web address: https://eumis2020.government.bg.

Applicants may ask additional questions and request clarifications regarding their application up to 3 weeks before the deadline for submission of project proposals. Additional questions can be asked only by the e-mail shown below, clearly indicating the name of the procedure for the selection of projects:

E-mail address: energy_large@mi.government.bg

Explanations will be given regarding the Requirements for Application, may not contain opinion on the quality of the project proposal and are mandatory for all applicants.

The full package of documents (Requirements for Application, Requirements for Implementation  and their Annexes /only in Bulgarian language/) under the procedure is published on the website of the Operational programme: www.opic.bg, on the Single information portal for general information about the management of Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund of the European Union in Bulgaria: www.eufunds.bg, as well as in the Unified information system for management and monitoring of the EU Structural Instruments in Bulgaria (UMIS 2020): https://eumis2020.government.bg.

The procedure is with deadline for submission of project proposals: 7:00 p.m. on 19/05/2017.