The Regional Director for Energy stated today that the incentives for the purchase of equipment for the production and storage of energy from renewable sources, granted by the Regional Government through PROENERGIA, “have doubled,” increasing 98% “in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019." According to her, these data "are significant and encouraging," as they evidence the result of the joint work that has been carried out with the Azorean population in "promoting the energy transition of the archipelago." 

During the first half of 2020, the Regional Directorate for Energy approved 468 applications, corresponding to 515 devices eligible under PROENERGIA, a global amount of more than 386 thousand Euros that represents an investment exceeding one million Euros. 

“This year's data highlight the growth trend that we have been registering in recent years,” Andreia Carreiro noted, recalling that "the incentives granted last year through PROENERGIA compared to 2016 more than doubled, which happened again in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year." 

Andreia Carreiro pointed out that this incentive system underwent a profound change in 2019, reducing the minimum investment required from 1,000 to 500 Euros and expanding the range of eligible equipment in order to align it with current market prices. 

Besides production systems, PROENERGIA now covers the storage of energy and, in both cases, the incentive reaches 25%, up to a maximum limit of 4,000 Euros.
 
The same amounts are applied in the case of heat energy production systems. 

In this context, the incentive granted under the support systems for the production of hot water increased to 35%, up to a maximum limit of 4,000 Euros, thus fostering an effective energy transition. 

The incentive granted to projects implemented in the territories covered by UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves (Corvo, Flores, Graciosa and São Jorge) was increased by 12 percentage points with the aim of safeguarding and promoting the natural heritage of these territories. 

According to the Regional Director for Energy, the Energy Portal became also available, where applications for PROENERGIA are submitted “in a more intuitive way.” This new electronic platform was “created with the aim of facilitating and streamlining the access to this programme and promoting the transparency of the process.” 

Andreia Carreiro was speaking at TERINOV - Terceira Science and Technology Park in Angra do Heroísmo, where she held an information session on energy efficiency, as a competitive factor, aimed at companies. 

For the Regional Director, it is “essential” that the various organisations and sectors of activity promote energy efficiency in their infrastructures through specific actions and, accordingly, “promote themselves in the market, seizing the opportunity of this green positioning as a differentiation factor, with advantages for the entire Region."