Federal funding for efficient buildings (BEG)

In the future, sustainability, digitalization and renewable energies will play a greater role in construction and renovation. Measures in these areas are therefore rewarded with funding. The new funding is intended to help significantly reduce the primary energy demand of buildings through a combination of energy conservation and the use of renewable energies.

The challenge

With the energy turnaround, the Federal Republic of Germany has initiated a comprehensive and far-reaching transformation of its energy supply and energy use. In order to make progress in the buildings sector in reducing final energy consumption and cutting CO2 emissions at the rate needed by 2030, investment in measures to increase energy efficiency and use renewable energies in the buildings sector is required – both in the new construction of energy-optimized buildings and in the energy refurbishment of existing buildings. Public funding is intended to provide stronger incentives for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energies and thus make a decisive contribution to achieving the 2030 energy and climate targets in the building sector.

With the federal subsidy for efficient buildings (
BEG
), the federal government’s energy-related funding for buildings has now been extended in implementation of the funding strategy of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (
BMWi
) “Energy Efficiency and Heat from Renewable Energies“.

The BEG replaces the existing programs CO2 Building Rehabilitation Program, Market Incentive Program for Renewable Energies in the Heating Market, Energy Efficiency Incentive Program and Heating Optimization Program. Proven elements from these programs will be adopted, further developed, and bundled into the new guidelines for the following three subprograms of the BEG:

• Federal subsidy for efficient buildings – residential buildings (
  BEG WG
  )

• Federal support for efficient buildings – non-residential buildings (
  BEG NWG
  )

• Federal funding for efficient buildings – individual measures (
  BEG EM
  )

By integrating the four previous federal subsidy programs, the subsidies for efficiency and renewable energies in the building sector were combined for the first time. The BEG is intended to reduce the complexity of the content of previous funding programs, making them more accessible and understandable. The incentive effect for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energies is to be noticeably strengthened. The BEG is intended to create an innovation-friendly environment for efficiency and renewable energy measures in buildings and to provide incentives for technological innovations.

In addition, the BEG is to improve interfaces to energy consulting for residential and non-residential buildings and, in particular, to include fully implemented individual renovation roadmaps in the investment subsidy for the first time.

Services – Benefits

Beginning January 1, 2021 and July 2021, respectively, BEG’s new development loans and grants are available for application, provided the following eligibility requirements are met:

• Subject of the promotion

The federal government grants subsidies for the construction and initial purchase of newly constructed energy-efficient non-residential and residential buildings, the energy-efficient refurbishment and initial purchase of existing buildings, and for individual measures.

• Circle of funding recipients

Eligible to apply are private individuals as well as sole proprietors, freelancers, local authorities, municipal and special-purpose associations and legally dependent proprietary companies of local authorities, corporations and institutions under public law, non-profit organizations, companies, including municipal companies, as well as other legal entities under private law.

In addition to owners, the eligibility to apply also applies to lessees or tenants of the land, part of the land, building or part of the building on or in which the measure is to be implemented.

• General eligibility requirements

Only investment projects carried out in Germany are eligible for funding.

• Type of promotion

BEG funding is generally provided at the applicant’s discretion either in the form of a non-repayable investment grant or in the form of a loan with a repayment subsidy.

• Procedure

The BMWi has commissioned the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (
BAFA
) and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (
KfW
).

Important to know

Applications for funding must be submitted before the start of the project. In principle, the conclusion of a supply or service contract attributable to the execution is deemed to be the start of the project. Planning and consulting services may be provided before an application is submitted and do not in themselves lead to the assumption of a project start.

Best positioned for you

If you are planning the new construction, construction or initial acquisition of newly constructed energy-efficient non-residential or residential buildings or, for example, if you are a tenant or leaseholder and want to carry out individual measures on existing buildings that contribute to increasing the building’s energy efficiency at the building envelope, or want to integrate energy-efficient smart home systems, we will be happy to support you. As part of our legal support, we provide you with advice from the application to the disbursement, in particular by checking your eligibility for funding, during the application process and in the event of doubtful questions regarding the start of the project, as well as in the commissioning of energy efficiency experts and the necessary exchange with them.

For further information or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. Contact us.