Increasing number of homeowners applying for energy efficient building renovation funding
Clean Energy Wire
Funding requests for new heating systems, energy efficient renovations and renewable energy systems are increasing in Germany, according to the Intelligent heizen (Intelligent Heating) service portal operated by the VdZ umbrella association for heating and building technology. The total of applications submitted in 2020 almost doubled compared to the previous year, from some 326,000 applications in 2019 to 600,000 in 2020. Approved funding increased almost fivefold in 2020 compared to 2019 -- from 1.82 to 8.56 billion euros. In addition, the number of funding applications for heating systems based on renewable energy sources, such as heat pumps, biomass and solar thermal systems, rose from 76,000 in 2019 to 280,000 in 2020. The funding has also had a positive effect on the economy, Intelligent heizen notes. According to a report by the KfW development bank, 2020 saw around 83 billion euros in investments in the sector.
In September 2021, the German federal government increased its BEG subsidy programme for energy efficient buildings by 5.7 billion euros to a total of 11.5 billion euros. The building sector exceeded its 2020 Climate Action Law budget of 118 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2 million tonnes. Agora Energiewende* and the Climate Neutrality Foundation have published a roadmap aimed at facilitating the necessary heating transition to make the building sector climate neutral by 2045.
