A total of 70 municipalities and local authorities from across Europe stand to benefit from a new call launched by the European City Facility (EUCF) earlier today. The call offers each successful applicant €60,000 in lump-sum payments, as well as hands-on support, to develop investment concepts on clean energy and energy efficiency.

The grant will assist beneficiaries in transforming their local long-term sustainable energy and climate plans into appropriate investment concepts. Previous calls have resulted in a wide variety of actions seeking to reduce emissions and optimise energy consumption, such as the development of community-based renewable energy production in Cascais (Portugal), multiplication of energy renovations in residential buildings in Girona (Spain) and the instalment of a communally-owned battery linking local businesses’ solar energy production back to the grid in Leeuwarden (the Netherlands).

Other previously funded actions include technical feasibility studies, market analyses, stakeholder planning and legal, economic or financial analyses. The specific action is up to applicants to decide and must remain within the topical areas of clean energy or energy efficiency. Chosen beneficiaries will also be able to take advantage of capacity-building, matchmaking offers and dedicated financing tools.

The call is funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and applications from EU Member States, Iceland and Ukraine will be accepted until 30 June at 17.00 CEST.

By providing municipalities and local authorities with the chance to develop concepts that mobilise investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, the EUCF - coordinated by Energy Cities with support from ICLEI Europe, Climate Alliance, FEDARENE, Adelphi, ENVIROS, and GNE Finance - is leveraging the power of local actors to drive sustainable energy transitions across Europe.

Application process

Applying for funding is straightforward: municipalities, their groupings or local public entities aggregating municipalities, must provide information on political support, potential investment size, feasible energy-related impacts, and plans for governance structure and stakeholder engagement. These requirements are comparable to what’s needed before accessing most public funding or private financing. 

More information and an online helpdesk are available here.