With this new ‘Juncker Plan’ loan, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is stepping up its support for the energy efficiency refurbishment of buildings by offering private customers innovative, attractive third party financing via the Agence régionale pour les Travaux d’Economie d’Energie (ARTÉÉ).
On Monday 6 November 2017 EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council Alain Rousset, Vice-President of the Regional Council and Chairwoman of ARTÉÉ Françoise Coutant, and Director General of ARTÉÉ David Dieumegard signed a financing agreement worth EUR 43m dedicated to financing the energy efficiency refurbishment of private homes throughout the region. This ambitious agreement is being implemented under a deliberate policy of energy transition. The EIB’s expertise and attractiveness thanks to its AAA credit rating are combined with the EU guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe (commonly known as the Juncker Plan).
This EU financing will provide concrete support for ARTÉÉ in its various energy efficiency refurbishment projects over the next five years, adding innovative funding to its technical support to private customers keen to carry out energy saving works. ARTÉÉ will thus be able to grant loans to owners of homes in need of refurbishment on favourable financial terms with regard to interest rate and maturity (more than 15 years), which will enable them to carry out more ambitious works than originally planned that will have a bigger impact on their energy bills.
Overall, more than 2 000 homes will be refurbished by 2021 thanks to this innovative financing.
“By supporting ARTÉÉ and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, the EIB aims to help finance this sector’s massive investment requirements and accelerate the thermal renovation of private homes”, said Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle at the signing ceremony. “This is a particularly innovative new ‘Juncker’ loan for the development of green affordable housing. It illustrates the priority we are giving to energy transition, which is also one of the main priorities of the French Government's investment plan.”
Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, said: “Improving energy efficiency is a key element of the Paris Agreement and one of the most economically effective ways to ensure the transition to a low-carbon economy. Buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in Europe. I am pleased to announce that the Juncker Plan is contributing to the project to refurbish 2 000 buildings in Nouvelle-Aquitaine with the aim of reducing energy consumption whilst creating new jobs.”
Buildings are the chief contributor to energy consumption in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, accounting for 40% of the region’s total consumption, of which 28% by the residential sector alone. Given this energy challenge, in 2015 the EIB adopted a EUR 400m programme for the energy efficiency refurbishment of private homes – both individual and collective housing – financed by third party financing companies. The ARTÉÉ operation is the third operation financed under this programme after SEM Energies Posit’if in Île-de-France and Régie SPEE in Picardy.
