Open call: European City Facility offers grants to develop energy efficiency and clean energy actions

This is the final call of the European City Facility and offers an opportunity for 71 local authorities and their groupings throughout the European Union, Ukraine and Iceland. Applications must be submitted by December 18.

The objective of EUCF is to support municipalities and local authorities in developing Investment Concepts related to the implementation of actions identified in their climate and energy action plans. The ultimate objective of the EUCF is to build a substantial pipeline of sustainable energy investment projects across municipalities in Europe.

Applicants are required to have a climate and/or energy plan. This includes SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans), developed within the Covenant of Mayors initiative, or other climate and/or energy plans with mitigation targets. Moreover, applicants have to demonstrate political commitment to the development of the Investment Concept through a letter of support, signed by the mayor or other relevant political representative.

Activities that can be funded include (technical) feasibility studies, market analyses, stakeholder analyses, legal, economic and financial analyses, risk analyses, etc., that are required to develop the investment concept. These activities can be delivered by in-house staff or subcontracted external experts. 

The grant cannot directly finance the actual investments, but it covers costs to mobilise resources and access services to develop an investment concept.

Applying for the funding is simple. The application form asks for proven political support, potential investment size, feasible energy-related impacts, and plans for governance structure and stakeholder engagement. This information is comparable to what’s needed before accessing most public or private financing and funding sources.

More information can be found on the EUCF website.