There is interest in the New Green Savings, more than 260 applications submitted

Prague - There is interest in the subsidy program New Green Savings (NZÚ). After 24 hours from its launch, there are 263 active applications totaling 76.5 million crowns, said Lenka Brandtová, spokesperson for the State Environmental Fund, to ČTK today. The state will provide 1.9 billion crowns for NZÚ this year, one billion more than last year. So far, the most requests have been for support in insulating family homes. Under the program, launched on Tuesday, windows, doors, or old non-ecological boilers can also be exchanged for new energy-efficient ones.
    "The first application was submitted on Tuesday right at 10:05, when the program started, from the Moravian-Silesian Region, and it is for solar panels. One application from Prague is even for a passive house. I think that’s a big success for the first day. It’s someone who has a prepared project and was waiting for the program to launch," Brandtová noted. The program will end either when the allocation is exhausted or on October 31 of this year.
    Brandtová expects a gradual increase in interest, especially since there is relatively plenty of time to submit applications. For example, in 2009, only two applications were submitted to the fund in the first month. In contrast, last year, when the first call for NZÚ started late, in mid-August, there were over 1200 applications for support amounting to 275 million crowns on the first day. The State Fund promises to expedite the processing of applications as much as possible. Due to poor air quality, people from the Moravian-Silesian and Ústí nad Labem regions will receive a ten percent higher subsidy for the first time.
    However, some experts still point out the necessity of an assessment by an energy specialist and the simplification of administrative conditions. The requirement for energy auditors, of which there are currently only about 400, could change through an amendment to the Energy Management Act.
    Applicants from across the country can receive up to a fifty-five percent subsidy for insulating a family house and up to a seventy-five percent grant for new ecological sources in the new program. The more methods of energy savings the applicant implements, the higher the support they will receive according to the Ministry of the Environment. By combining selected measures, they can also achieve a one-time financial bonus. People can newly also obtain support for the acquisition of solar systems for family homes.
    Overall, up to 27 billion crowns is to be allocated to NZÚ by 2020. Petr Holub, director of the Chance for Buildings alliance, told ČTK that it is important to ensure a continuous receipt of applications. So that people do not have to decide whether to invest hundreds of thousands in their properties solely based on the date set by the ministry. According to Holub, the question is how the program will be financed when revenues from emission permits are limited in 2015 and 2016.
    Last year, New Green Savings exhausted nearly one billion crowns. In the first Green Savings program from 2009 to 2012, 20.2 billion crowns were paid out for 75 thousand applications.