General overview
The eeef set up its Technical Assistance (TA) Facility to support public beneficiaries across Europe in developing bankable sustainable energy investment programmes within the energy efficiency sector, small-scale renewable energy and/or public urban transport.
Since its inception, twelve public authorities joined the TA programme from Spain, Italy, Lithuania, and Latvia to realise their energy upgrade programmes (ca. two years timeframe). This work was facilitated through the contributions from eeef and EIB's - European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA) under the Horizon Programme 2020.
In October 2023, eeef and EIB's ELENA Facility signed a new ELENA Contract - a collaboration agreement of up to EUR 1.9m, to support the eeef TA facility's project development services (PDS) for a timeframe of three years (2023 – 2026). eeef is eager to continue supporting ambitious and innovative projects in the energy field, i.e., by upgrading and modernizing public buildings and street lighting, promoting sustainable digital solutions, developing energy communities, and biomass district heating, among other energy-related activities) and further support the EU energy and climate targets (i.e., the TA projects threshold is a minimum of 30% reduction in primary energy savings or/and CO2 emissions reduction).
Supported services include the following:
(i) preparation of technical studies, i.e., investment grade energy audits, feasibility studies and/or validation,
(ii) evaluation of the economic viability of the investment, i.e., financial calculations as a basis for the economic proposal of ESCO tenders,
(iii) preparation and structuring of the tender documents to align with the PPP / ESCO model, i.e., tender documents containing technical and financial components; and
(iv) external advisors and legal analysis, i.e., to assist the public authority during the evaluation phase, etc.
These services will facilitate the public authority to reach the required renovation and energy levels to meet local and national strategic objectives in the energy sector and contribute towards carbon neutrality by 2050 through replicability.
Eligible costs for each eeef TA programme should be in accordance with the project's ambition/ capacity and relevant to the country's market prices where the project will be implemented.
With no deadline, the call for proposals for the eeef TA Facility remains open to receive further TA project proposals on a first come, first served basis. eeef encourages public authorities in Europe to join the Fund's TA Programme. eeef is accepting future applications. Please visit: www.eeef.eu/eeef-ta-facility.html
Awarded eeef TA beneficiaries
| Public authority | Country | Description | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Metropolitan Area | Spain | EE - Public lighting/ building retrofit, RE | Download PDF |
| University of Oviedo | Spain | EE - Building retrofit/ digitalization programs, RE | Download PDF |
| City of Sestao | Spain | EE - Public lighting/ building retrofit, mobility and digitalization programs, RE | Download PDF |
| Daugavpils City Municipality | Latvia | EE - Public lighting | Download PDF |
| Municipality of Gijón | Spain | EE - Public lighting / building retrofit, RE | Download PDF |
| Ferrara Province via SIPRO | Italy | EE - Public lighting / building retrofit | Download PDF |
| Ministry of Defense – Modena Ducal Palace | Italy | EE - Building retrofit | Download PDF |
| Kaunas District Municipality | Lithuania | EE - Public lighting | Download PDF |
| The Autonomous Province of Bolzano – Bozen | Italy | EE - Public buildings retrofit | Download PDF |
| Ukmergė District Municipality Administration | Lithuania | EE - Public buildings retrofit | Download PDF |
| Administration of Silute District Municipality | Lithuania | EE - Public buildings retrofit | Download PDF |
| Klaipeda University Hospital | Lithuania | EE - Public buildings retrofit, RE | Download PDF |
The main criteria TA application is summarised below:
Eligible applicants: Regions, City Councils, Universities, public hospitals and other public entities located in the Member States of the European Union
Sectors covered: energy efficiency, small-scale renewable energy and/or public urban transport
TA activities supported: feasibility studies, energy audits, evaluation of the economic viability of the investments and legal support
Support format: eeef is supporting the TA beneficiary by way of allocating consultant services to the planned investment programmes (for example for feasibility studies, energy audits and evaluating the economic viability of investments). It also covers direct staff costs of the TA beneficiaries and external legal service costs required. Should the investment programme not to be financed by eeef, the reimbursement of services previously paid by eeef is mandatory.
Project investment volume: >€5m
Leverage factor for Technical Assistance: >20
Savings of at least 30%: Primary energy & CO2 equivalents
eeef TA Manager: DWS Investment S.A., Ms Lada Strelnikova (lada.strelnikova@dws.com) and eeef TA consultant Ms. Karin Rosales (krosales@eeef.lu).
How to apply: applicants are asked to provide their proposals by following the application format - which can be found in the TA download section below - as a basis for their application and send fully-fledged proposals to the following email address: technical_assistance@eeef.eu
Submission deadline for proposals: no deadline, open on a first-come-first-serve basis, subject to availability of funds and the Fund’s appetite for proposed sector/technology etc.
Evaluation and selection criteria: the general conditions for awarding TA support can be found in the table below, mainly four criteria to be applied to the proposals:
| Criteria | Max points |
|---|---|
1. Investment Programme
|
35 |
2. TA required for the Investment Programme
|
30 |
3. Commitment to implement the Investment Programme
|
20 |
4. Proposal clarity
|
15 |
| Total points | 100 |
Awarding process: The TA beneficiary will be informed by the eeef team in writing within 20 days after submission. In the event of TA support awarded by eeef, a TA contract (standard example provided at the TA download section of the website) detailing the eeef support and conditions will be sent to the potential TA beneficiary to formalise the obligations of the parties. It is envisaged to sign the TA contract with the TA beneficiary 15 days after the awarding notice was sent to the TA beneficiary.
Investment programme realisation: After awarding the TA support to the winning applicant/s and signing the TA contracts, each TA beneficiary has to complete the agreed TA work scope within a two year timeframe, including selecting the company/companies to carry out the investment programme’s implementation works. This assumes that the TA beneficiary is required to publish a tender for the project implementation works within this time.
Information for consultants to provide consultant services to TA beneficiaries
eeef provides TA support through consultancy services to support and accelerate the preparation of investment programmes in energy efficiency, renewable energy production, or public transportation.
eeef as TA contractor launches a call for proposals to search for the right consultants/consortium with the required know-how and expertise to provide legal, technical, and financial advice to TA beneficiaries (public authorities). The consultants should carry out, among other tasks, technical studies (i.e., feasibility studies, energy audits), economic and financial analysis, and prepare the tender documents for the implementation of the investment plan through an ESCO/PPP model contract. Also, to assist the Public Authority during the evaluation phase of the bidder offers and legal advice until the signing of the ESCO contract.
The consultants can work with 2-3 beneficiaries in parallel according to the working programmes to be agreed with eeef and beneficiary in advance, need to have experience in dealing with the PPP structures and respective public authorities, as well as be fluent in the authority's language, among others. Exact requirements will be included in the Terms of Reference (ToR) under the Download section. Please follow us also on LinkedIn to hear about new ToRs in progress.
eeef uses the following procurement procedures for all consultants: i) eeef organizes a restricted1 call for proposals when TA costs are below €200,000 and invites 2 to 4 companies for proposals, and ii) eeef publishes an open call for proposals on the Fund's website (www.eeef.eu/downloads-ta.html) as well as on TED (Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union – Tenders Electronic Daily), when is above €200,000. Call for proposals for consultancy services for all new projects will be launched on the eeef website and TED or will be sent out proposal requests.
Regarding the evaluation and selection criteria, the Fund's TA Facility team will conduct a deep assessment to select the best advisor(s) for the particular consultancy services: i.e., review the advisor(s) eligibility, alignment with ToR guidelines, and the overall portfolio fit. The main criteria are as follows:
| Criteria | max points % |
|---|---|
| 1. Scope of work | 35 |
|
10 |
|
20 |
|
5 |
| 2. Team members | 65 |
|
15 |
|
15 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
5 |
|
Total points |
100 |
More information can be found under the FAQ section.
1 Restricted procedure: Anyone may ask to participate in a restricted procedure, but only those who are pre-selected may submit tenders. European Union Website. Public Tendereing Rules at: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/selling-in-eu/public-contracts/public-tendering-rules/index_en.htm