Ieva Vērzemniece, Head of the Energy Efficiency Support Programmes Department at the financial institution Altum, points out that since the end of spring, the number of applications for building insulation support has increased, and so has the amount of reserved funding. Around 20 applications are currently submitted to the program each month. Meanwhile, 32 houses are already under construction and it is expected that another 20 houses will start construction this year. Vērzemniece concludes that the uptake of the program is broadly in line with expectations.
"The program, which is currently open, has a total funding of EUR 45 million, and of these funds, around 20% are available. This is a very small amount and, looking at the activity that has taken place in recent months, it is clear that the uptake of the program has accelerated. So for those houses that already have their projects ready, I urge you not to postpone submitting your application to Altum," urges Vērzemniece.
Vērzemniece calculates that the remaining funding will be able to support about 25 more projects, which means that the program will be closed in the coming months.
In the meantime, discussions are underway on the terms of the new energy efficiency program, which will already have more funding - a total of 173 million euros.
"The preliminary vision is that the program will have roughly the same level and intensity of support. At the moment, the level of support is 49%, excluding VAT, while the new program is currently planned to be 40%, including VAT. And in some cases, a higher level of support will be available if certain conditions are met."
So far, most of the applications for insulation projects have been for houses with 30 apartments, and most of the renovation is currently being carried out in Riga and the Pierīga Region, which also has the largest number of houses to be renovated.
Riga House Manager currently has 3,500 houses on its books and only about 2% could be considered renovated. "Of course, this is very low, and here I would say that everything starts with the owners' decision," says Mārtiņš Paurs, board member of Riga House Manager.
Another 45 houses have decided to go for renovation and technical documentation is being prepared, mostly for the next support programme. Meanwhile, active projects are still being finalized by eight clients, some of whom had their renovation delayed due to construction delays.
Ģirts Beikmanis, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Association of House Managers and Property Managers, also confirms that there is a lot of interest in the upcoming support program, but he thinks that the support should be even greater.
"One thing is this national program, but municipalities also need to think about the people who live in their territory. The country has this commitment to carbon dioxide (CO2) savings, so I would like to see even more support, so that people can actually get back their investment in heating by renovating their homes with support, and the state would benefit from that too," Beikmanis said.
The new Altum energy efficiency program for apartment buildings will open around the beginning of next year and will be open for renovation projects until 2028.
