On 16 January 2023, the government published the launch of the new 'Energy for the countryside' programme. The programme aims to support investments including: photovoltaic installations, energy storage and heat pumps in rural areas. Farmers who choose to invest in renewable energy sources can significantly reduce their bills - and thus their farm maintenance costs.
Who can benefit from the funding?
The funding is intended for farmers (natural person, legal entity, commercial partnership, partner in a civil partnership) who meet the requirements:
- Farm size - at least 1 ha of agricultural users or property used for production in the field of specialised agricultural production.
- To carry out an agricultural activity - for gainful purposes in the field of animal or plant production, excluding fish farming, and the activity is not carried out for scientific research purposes (does not apply to a farmer who is an individual who has been carrying out agricultural activity for less than 12 msc - preceding the month of application).
In addition, the energy cooperative or its member can benefit from the funding.
What can the beneficiary use the RES grant money for?
A farmer wishing to benefit from the scheme can receive funding for:
- Purchase and installation of a solar electricity generation system or heat pump.
- The construction or purchase of technical infrastructure elements necessary for the installation of electricity generation facilities.
- Purchase and installation of energy storage facilities.
The submitted villages will be subject to a scoring assessment. The sum of the points will determine the order of eligibility. Applications will be assessed according to access, qualitative and horizontal criteria. This means that in order to receive a grant, the investment should meet all formal, environmental, technical and financial requirements.
Recruitment: 31 January - 1 March 2023
Amount of funding
Funding will be awarded in the form of eligible costs incurred for the investment. The level of subsidy is normally 50% of the eligible costs incurred. It can be higher and amount to 60%, but only if a 'young farmer' applies for assistance.
Important!
Investment cannot be started before the date of submission of the application for funding.
Applications for funding, together with documents, should be submitted to the ARMA regional offices in person or as an electronic document:
- In person or by an authorised person, directly at the competent regional branch/district office of ARMA,
- In the form of an electronic document sent to an electronic mailbox via the ePUAP platform.
