New program with 38 billion CZK for energy savings is set to start in August 2013

Prague - The Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) wants to launch a successor program to the popular Green Savings next year in August, provided that preparations go smoothly. According to a conservative estimate from the office, the program will have 28 billion crowns available from the sale of emission allowances and another ten billion from European funds, totaling 38 billion crowns. This was stated today by the Minister of the Environment Tomáš Chalupa at a seminar of the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises of the Czech Republic. The Green Savings program had 20 billion crowns for subsidies.
    "If everything goes well, the new Green Savings will be launched, meaning that application recruitment will begin next August," Chalupa stated. The amount of support in the program will depend, according to MŽP's proposal, on the share of energy saved.
    Money from the program will be available to households as well as public institutions. The Minister expects that initially, mainly households will be able to apply for funds. In subsequent years, there will be more room for public institutions, which will start to feel pressure due to the European directive on the energy efficiency of buildings.
    However, Chalupa pointed out that the outlined form of the proposal may not be final. The government is expected to soon discuss its definitive version.
    Manufacturers of polystyrene and other insulation materials are impatiently awaiting the new program supporting energy savings. "Many buildings still need to be renovated and insulated to prevent heat loss and unnecessarily high energy costs," said Pavel Zemene, chairman of the domestic association of polystyrene manufacturers EPS ČR to ČTK.
    The program replacing Green Savings is among the measures designed to help restore economic growth. MŽP anticipates that support will not continue to be solely in the form of grants, but that part of it will be in the form of loans.