MADRID, 19 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has approved the final resolution of the second call for applications for the aid program for specific projects for the renovation of municipal outdoor lighting installations. This program will allocate €142 million from the National Energy Efficiency Fund (FNEE) to 70 municipalities selected through competitive bidding.
In a statement, the cabinet led by Sara Aagesen emphasized that the new lighting "will represent a significant transformation for the benefiting municipalities—including seven provincial capitals—which together have a population of 3.9 million."
Specifically, these municipalities will fully or partially modernize their lighting with 139,300 more efficient and environmentally friendly lighting points by minimizing their impact on the night sky. Furthermore, the reduction in energy consumption will lead to a substantial reduction in their annual electricity bills, as public lighting is one of the largest expenditure items in municipal budgets.
As the program manager, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE), an agency attached to the Ministry, has prioritized proposals that incorporate the most innovative and efficient solutions. The beneficiary lighting renovation projects will achieve energy savings of over 70%—74.1% overall—through the installation of LED technology in their public and ornamental lighting.
ANDALUSIA AND CATALONIA, THE REGIONS WITH THE MOST FUNDS
Andalusia, with 19 projects and €50 million , and Catalonia, with 11 projects and €18 million, are the autonomous communities that will receive the most funding in this second round of the IDAE's grant program for specific municipal outdoor lighting renovation projects.
The capitals of Zaragoza and Córdoba, which had already developed projects under the first phase of this aid program, are participating in this call for proposals.
The three projects with the largest investment are the Zaragoza City Council's "Reluz y Dos" project, with 9.9 million euros, to continue the comprehensive modernization and centralized control of outdoor lighting; the Seville project "Smart lighting in Ecity Cartuja," with 9.4 million euros, which aims to convert the lighting infrastructure of the La Cartuja Science and Technology Park into a sensor-based and intelligent network; and the Avilés municipality (Asturias) project, with 8.5 million euros.
Regarding the technical evaluation of the proposals, the highest-scoring proposal was that of the municipality of Iznalloz, in Granada, with a population of 5,100, to replace 100% of its lighting fixtures with smart LEDs and an advanced control system, earning it a score of 91.75.
INTEREST-FREE LOANS.
The grants cover 100% of each application and consist of loans repayable for up to 10 years, including a one-year grace period, with no interest or collateral required, and a repayment period of approximately seven years under normal electricity price conditions.
The FNEE, which finances these initiatives, has the essential objectives of promoting and encouraging the use and application of clean technologies, the diversification of primary energy sources, especially those from renewable sources, and the dissemination of energy efficiency and energy saving measures.
