It could arrive in the Official Gazette close to the elections and add another pillar to the Italian energy strategy, a legacy of the Renzi and Gentiloni governments. Having obtained the signatures of the Ministers of Economic Development Carlo Calenda and of the Environment Gian Luca Galletti, the decree establishing the National Energy Efficiency Fund is being examined by the Court of Auditors.
In November it had received the consent of the State-Regions conference, despite the months of delays accumulated compared to a previous provision of 2014. What will happen in the 60 days following its publication in the Gazette? Public and private entities will be able to apply for and obtain funding for energy efficiency interventions on buildings, structures and production processes.
The Invitalia company is already in the field to evaluate the proposals, hand in hand with the hundreds of energy companies engaged in the revision of public energy processes. Invitalia will manage the Fund by lending guarantees and loans at subsidized rates involving, as far as possible, financial institutions and private entities. No problem should arise for the economic risks associated with the activities. Net of risk sharing, the Fund has a revolving nature and is already covered by the first 150 million euros.
Until 2020, the Calenda ministry will allocate an additional annual income of 35 million euros. In the next two years, therefore, we will have full operation of projects for the abatement of polluting emissions. There will also be support from the Ministry of the Environment which has announced the availability of its own resources. A good answer will obviously have to come from the local area.
But the three years that have passed since the first decree have not been fruitless. Everything could have been done earlier, but establishing where and what to invest in was a demanding job, which went forward together with the energy strategy in Parliament. In the meantime there was the UN conference in Paris on climate change which had to be taken into account and above all it was necessary to decide carefully where to spend the money. The list of interventions that can be performed today includes district heating networks, public lighting, installation of environmentally friendly equipment, transformation of boilers, modernization of thermal power plants.
Overall the process has not lacked the contribution of companies and associations of various types, which have led to great expectations in the energy market. The doors have been opened to forms of public-private partnership, an aspect by no means negligible in the circular economy system. That's not all yet. With the 2018 stability law, the eco-loan and eco-bonus mechanisms were also expanded. Two systems for granting loans to private citizens for modernization works on their building stock. However, the mechanism of the Fund will be operational within 60 days of its entry into force with the publication of the rules for submitting applications. A good start.
