EENERGY PROGRAM GRANTS TO SUPPORT UKRAINIAN BUSINESS COMPANIES IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES

Abstract

The article examines the grant possibilities of the EENergy Program, which is financed by the Single Market Program of the European Union (EU) and is implemented with the support of the European Enterprise Network (EEN). It has been demonstrated that Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have the opportunity, along with enterprises from EU countries, to receive support from the EENergy Program for measures to identify their energy efficiency needs and implement an appropriate action plan to address these needs. The study emphasizes that 900 beneficiaries from EU countries and from Ukraine will be given financial grants in the amount of up to 10,000 euros; the funds provided by EENergy must be used for the implementation of measures that will lead to an increase in the energy efficiency of the SME-beneficiary. It is emphasized that the goal of the activity financed by the grant should be to achieve a 5% reduction in energy consumption. The article demonstrates that beneficiaries can receive support from the Program in three categories: investment, consultation, skills and training. The basic stages of participation in the open competition of the Program are outlined, namely: determination of the EEN action plan through a mandatory assessment with the local EEN sustainable development advisor; submitting an application for an EENergy grant; confirmation of the application by the responsible advisor for sustainable development of EEN; checking eligibility and providing benchmarking reports for all eligible firms; selection of beneficiaries for financial and advisory support; action implementation; reporting and documenting actions and sharing relevant results data; grant payment. The article emphasizes that as a result of the selection, all SMEs will be divided into "all beneficiaries" and "financed beneficiaries". It is stated that after 2 years, the EENergy Project will distribute 9 million euros in the form of more than 900 grants to small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe to participate in activities, procurement or integration that will improve their overall energy costs by at least 5%. It was concluded that in the long term, the projects supported by the EENergy Program should contribute to the acceleration of the transition to a carbon neutral economy of the EU countries and our country in particular.