Bad news for applicants who want energy efficient buildings. The applications are no longer approved by the state development bank KfW.
In the face of a flood of applications and “mismanagement”, the new federal government has stopped funding for energy-efficient buildings for the time being and is planning a fundamental reform.
As the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate announced on Monday, applications from the state development bank KfW will no longer be approved.
The new construction subsidy for the so-called Efficiency House 55, which would have expired at the end of the month anyway, will be finally discontinued. The background is an enormous flood of applications in January, especially for new construction funding, which significantly exceeds the funds provided.
According to the information, the funding for renovations is to be resumed as soon as the corresponding budgetary funds are made available. The future of new building subsidies according to the Efficiency House 40 standard will be decided quickly against the background of the funds available in the energy and climate fund and the needs of other programs.
Specifically, according to the ministry, the decision means that applications can no longer be submitted for all three program areas of KfW funding for efficient buildings – i.e. for the new building standards Efficiency House 55 and 40 and for energy-related renovation. It has not yet been decided what will happen to the applications for new construction funding that have been received but not yet approved. The KfW funds currently available are not sufficient for this. It is now being examined whether the development bank can offer low-interest loans for these applications instead of funding.
“The application freeze is sad and disappointing news for the applicants concerned,” said Secretary of State for Energy Patrick Graichen. “We would have liked to have avoided this step. However, in recent years there has been a failure to adjust the funding framework and the legal new building standards. Instead, an outdated subsidy was continued that sets the wrong incentives. » These false incentives have recently produced an unprecedented run on funds. “A stop to the old funding was therefore now unavoidable. As the new federal government, we are taking this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to quickly reorganize the funding and legal standards for new buildings.”
With the Efficiency House 55, a standard is being promoted with tax money that has long since prevailed, said Graichen. “But: Where climate protection is written on it, climate protection must also be included. We are currently funding the wrong thing, and this money is then not available for actually effective climate protection measures, for example for the very important building renovation. This can not go on like this.”
In the future, subsidies should be used in a targeted manner where the CO2 savings are greatest, announced Graichen. In the building sector, this is particularly the case with renovation measures. Graichen accused the black-red previous government of “massive climate policy and fiscal mismanagement”.
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
