60,000 euros to support local energy initiatives

The European City Facility (EUCF) is a competition funded by the European Union's LIFE program that will support 71 municipalities or associations of municipalities planning to implement their climate and energy action plans and develop an investment concept for a local energy measure in the field of sustainable energy and climate.

What activities can be financed by the EUCF grant?

Successful applicants receive financial support of EUR 60,000 as a one-time grant, which can be used to pay for their own staff - if internal capacity is sufficient - or to pay for external experts, subcontractors and other positions required to develop the investment concept. The types of activities that can be funded include feasibility studies, engineering analysis, legal analysis, social research, market research, financial analysis, energy audit, and other support tasks.

The call is open until December 18, 17:00 Brussels time (GMT+1).

Who can apply and receive support from the EUCF?

• Local governments, associations of local governments, as well as local public institutions that unite local governments located in the European Union (EU-27), Iceland or Ukraine are eligible to apply for EUCF support.
• It is important to note that local authorities, groups of local authorities and local state institutions that unite local authorities can benefit from EUCF support only once. Therefore, beneficiaries of previous EUCF calls are not eligible for subsequent calls for proposals.

Application process

The application process and requirements are similar to previous EUCF calls and include proven political support, potential investment size, potential energy impact, and plans for governance and stakeholder engagement.

For selected beneficiaries, the EUCF offer goes beyond financing and includes capacity building, matchmaking and special financing instruments that bring a project idea one step closer to obtaining private or public funding.

What are the main stages of working with the EUCF?

1. Pre-application stage

2. The application stage

3. The stage of signing the grant agreement

4. Development of the investment concept

5. Implementation of the investment concept

More about the opportunity at the link: https://www.eucityfacility.eu/calls/ongoing-call

Check the eligibility criteria here: https://fmp.eucityfacility.eu/iss/Check/