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Climate Action Fund
Expression of Interest - Information Session
05 February 2020
Agenda
10.30 - 11.15 Fund, Call and Questionnaire Overview
11.15 - 12.15 Q&A Session using Slido (code on sheet)
12.15 - 12.55 Opportunity to speak with DCCAE officials
12.55 Venue Closed
Slide 2
Today’s Speakers
• Kevin Brady
• Principal Officer, Business Energy and Gas Policy Division
• Dr John O’Neill
• Principal Officer, Transport Energy and Climate Action Fund
Division
• James Rowan
• Assistant Principal Officer, Transport Energy and Climate Action
Fund Division
Slide 3
Climate Action Fund
Overview and 1st Round of Funding
Climate Action Fund – Overview
• Support the funding of initiatives, by public and private bodies, which contribute to
the achievement of Ireland’s climate and energy targets in a cost effective manner
• Funding of €500m over the period to 2027
• Will also seek to facilitate projects that contribute to other Government priorities,
such as: solutions capable of being scaled, delivering benefits beyond a once off
impact; promoting a Just Transition; generate wider socio-economic and
environmental benefits and promote Climate Resilience
• Seeks to leverage non-Exchequer sourced investment and support “additionality”
in projects Slide 5
First Call – Key Elements
• Open to public and private sector
• Not intended to compete with other supports:
• RESS, SSRH, etc.
• Better Energy Communities => €1m minimum support level
• Not intended to compete with other NDP funding
• Projects cannot apply to other funds
• Does not seek to support projects that have other funding under NDP –
e.g. energy efficiency retrofits
• Requirement to comply with state aid rules
Slide 6
First Call – Timelines
• July 2018: First round of applications opened
• October 2018: First round closed
• 97 applications received by deadline day
• November 2018:
• 7 projects approved
• January 2019: Feedback workshop for applicants (material online)
• 2019 to Present: Validation stage of projects
• 1 project moved to delivery stage, 2 very close to delivery stage, 4 moving
through validation stage
Slide 7
First Call - Five Stage Process
1. Submission of applications
2. Assessment of applications
• Assessment overseen by Advisory Board - Chaired by D/CCAE including D/AFM, D/TTAS, D/HPLG, and independent experts
3. Project validation
• Supported by sector experts and financial experts
4. Project delivery
5. Project evaluation
Slide 8
First Call - Assessment • Two-part process:
• Mandatory requirements
• Detailed assessment (if mandatory requirements met)
• Assessment overseen by Advisory Board
• Chaired by D/CCAE including D/AFM, D/TTAS, D/HPLG, and independent experts etc…
• Advisory Board made recommendations to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for approval
Slide 9
First Call – From 97 to 7
• Withdrawn (5 projects):
• Six projects having potential duplication/overlap
• Following request for clarification, 5 projects withdrew
• Did not meet mandatory requirements (68 projects)
• Met mandatory requirements (24 projects):
• All of which underwent the detailed assessment
• A total of 7 were approved
Slide 10
First Call – Mandatory Requirements 1
• Does not provide sufficient information to carry out an
assessment (9 projects)
• Project description and high level details only provided
• Quantified contribution to climate and energy targets not
provided
• Level of support < €1m (7 projects)
• Level of support > 50% (5 projects)
• Potential but only in exceptional circumstances
Slide 11
First Call – Mandatory Requirements 2
• Not applicable project type (3 projects)
• Does not correspond to allowed project types
• No specified type/specified a type not included
• Eligible for RESS/SSRH (13 projects)
• Projects included solar farms, wind farms, biogas and
biomass
• Either as full projects or integral elements of projects
Slide 12
First Call – Mandatory Requirements 3
• Ineligible costs (9 projects)
• Support requested for planning/grid connection processes,
setting up a grant scheme for a single manufacturer’s
technology, buildings/equipment/operational costs, product
design/development/marketing/testing,
• Not integral part of a project – e.g. heat source without
district heating scheme
• Work already commenced
Slide 13
First Call – Mandatory Requirements 4
• Application not based on extra investment costs (19 projects)
• High-efficiency cogeneration projects where full cost was assumed to
be eligible and not extra cost needed to operate as high-efficiency
cogeneration (e.g. additional cost of CHP over and above the
conventional equivalent(s) is the eligible cost)
• Energy efficiency projects where full cost was assumed to be eligible
and not extra costs necessary to achieve higher level of energy
efficiency (e.g. additional cost of EV fleet over and above the
conventional equivalent is the eligible cost)
• Project going beyond union standards assumed full as opposed to
additional costs were eligible
Slide 14
First Call – Mandatory Requirements 5
• Does not meet additionality criteria (2 projects)
• Did not demonstrate that the project/services would not
otherwise be provided
• Application to another NDP fund (1 project)
• Based on success in another NDP fund application
Slide 15
First Call – Assessment Criteria
• Only 24 of initial 97 applications reached this stage:
• Contribution to Ireland's climate and energy targets, and wider Government policy priorities
• Cost-effectiveness
• Innovation & Quality
• Partnerships
Overall Score (max 100 marks)
Slide 16
First Call - Outcome
• 7 projects approved - up to €77m in CAF support, leveraging a total of €300 million of investments:
• ESB Electric Vehicle High Power Charging Infrastructure Development Project
• GRAZE Gas – Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions Gas
• Hybrid Drive for Inter City Railcar (ICR 22000) fleet
• Dublin District Heating System
• The South Dublin County Council Tallaght District Heating Scheme
• Local Authority Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Project
• Driving HGV Efficiently into Brexit
Slide 17
Climate Action Fund
Expressions of Interest Process
Expressions of Interest – Overview
• Market sounding exercise - want to hear from Industry, Public
Bodies and Local Communities what they would like funded
• This process will inform how DCCAE designs the next round of
funding - may focus the round, change criteria etc…
• You do not have to make an expression of interest to take part in
future funding rounds:
• But, if we do not know relevant info about your specific
sector or project, it is possible that future funding round(s)
may not suit you well
Slide 19
Expressions of Interest – Overview
• No limitations on projects for this call. However, projects
should be distinct and have no overlap with others
• To be eligible for CAF support an applicant must be a
national of the EU/EEA or a company must be registered in
an EU/EEA country and have a physical presence in Ireland
• No funding commitments will be entered into as a result of
this call. Engagement with DCCAE should not be interpreted
as any agreement that we will enter into any type of support
Slide 20
Expressions of Interest – Timelines
• 5th and 10th February: Information Sessions
• 14th February: Clarification note for call published online
• 6th March: Window for accepting Input Form closes (extended)
• Second half of 2020: Second funding round opens for
applications
Slide 21
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (1- 6)
• Questions 1 – 6: Basic Background Info
Slide 22
Project Name: Lead Project Partner: The lead partner who is considered the
principal applicant.
Co-Partners: List other partners involved in the project.
Brief Project Description: Max 200 words.
Total Project Cost: Details of the total investment to be made.
Climate Action Fund Contribution: Estimate of contribution that
is required from the Fund towards the total investment.
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (7)
• Question 7: Additionality
• Critically important - Projects that are already going
ahead, without CAF support, will not be funded
• CAF support is limited and has to be targeted to where
it can make the most impact and make projects viable
• Set out why the level of funding support, set out in
Question 6, is needed.
Slide 23
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (8-10)
• Questions 8 – 10: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction
• The main benefit metric we measure against the cost of
the project support – standard CBA
Slide 24
Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction: As a result of this
project, in tonnes of carbon equivalent (tCO₂-eq).
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction to 2030: As a result of
this project, in tonnes of carbon equivalent (tCO₂-eq).
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Classification: As a result of
this project, in tonnes of carbon equivalent (tCO₂-eq). Sector and year
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (11-12)
• Questions 11 - 12: Project classification
• Helps us analyse and compare project sectors and
funding types across all input forms received
Slide 25
Project Sector: Enter sectors from the list in
Annex 1. More than one sector can be entered.
e.g. 4. Commercial Aviation
Or 9. Waste
Project Funding Type: Enter funding types
from the list in Annex 1. More than one funding
type can be entered.
e.g. 13. Capital purchase – non
infrastructure
Or 12. Other: Climate Resilience
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (13-14)
• Question 13 - 14: Timelines
• Helps us understand the pipelines of projects
Slide 26
Project Commencement: When would the project begin
its work?
Project Completion: When would the project be
completed and the fully operational?
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (15)
• Questions 15: Project Output
• What are the key performance indicators?
• What are the project outputs and results?
• How will all these, as well as the emissions reductions,
be measured?
• Be concise - specifics, facts & numbers
Slide 27
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (16)
• Questions 16: Other Sources of Funding
• Having other sources of funding, public or private, is a
requirement of CAF support
• The Government wants to leverage additional
investment in Climate Action projects
• Having other sources of funding is also a very positive
indicator of the project viability and from DCCAE
perspective, reduces the project risk profile
• Contributes to being successful in the assessment
Slide 28
Climate Action Fund and State Aid
• Majority of projects likely to involve state aid – some
exceptions
• Options for state aid compliance:
• De Minimis – for projects supported less than €200,000 over three
years
• General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) – provides scope to
fund specified project types subject to rules, requires notification to
European Commission (like in first round)
• Full state aid notification – wider scope, requires European
Commission approval, likely to take time
Slide 29
Le
ve
l o
f
com
ple
xity
Climate Action Fund and State Aid
• What are we trying to find out?
• Seeking to understand if, with funding, a project will result in
lower carbon emissions or increased energy efficiency
compared to a situation without funding support, which
would result in those two metrics remaining the same if the
project where to go ahead
• Important and complex consideration under EU state aid
rules and DCCAE need to be aware of individual project
context as well as overall recurrent issues from those taking
part in this call Slide 30
Expressions of Interest – Input Form (17-20)
• Questions 17: Types of Activity
• From GBER classification - answer as best you can
• Question 18: Investment that directly reduces emissions
• Need to make the direct link between CAF financial
support (input) and emissions reduction (output)
• Question 19: Replace a higher carbon alternative
• Is CAF support improving the infrastructure/ technology/
ambition of your project compared to a situation without
CAF support? If yes, describe the cost differential
Slide 31
Expressions of Interest – Tips
• Outline your project in a manner that is:
• Clear, Concise and Considered
• Use facts and evidence-based figures as much as possible
• Be realistic, particularly in timelines and CO2 reduction potential
• Give as much detail as possible, this does not set it in stone
• Demonstrate the necessity of CAF support
• Make high-quality input that demonstrates your professionalism
Slide 32
Q&A
Questions & Answer Session
Use Slido code:
Slide 33
