Companies rescued by COVID-19 bounce to the roof: they can no longer receive support for solar or wind energy

State aid can be granted in two ways, either in coordination with the European Commission or without coordination, but the last method, called “de minimis”, has a limit: no more than 200 thousand. per company (including related companies) for three years.

Today, companies rescued during a pandemic realize that they will no longer be able to benefit from support for energy, environmental or other projects that are backed by the small aid scheme for another three years. During the pandemic, when companies had to be rescued, some support measures were not coordinated with the EC, which exhausted the limits.

“There are hundreds of companies that simply cannot apply for support for solar power plants, heat pumps, energy efficiency and many other things,” says Vidmantas Janulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.

He stressed that previously 200 thousand. The threshold was set at € 1 million under normal operating conditions, but was not adapted to the conditions of the pandemic. Businesses relied on the limits not because of their own fault or because of investment in development, but because of aid that made up for losses due to restrictions during the pandemic.

There are stories shared on the tab that the € 200 vacation vouchers for doctors meant the hospital could no longer install sponsored solar power plants.

“Do you remember that last year, the government granted doctors who fought against the first wave of COVID19 free tickets to sanatoriums or nursing homes? Now all this support is included in state aid to those medical institutions where these doctors worked and according to the “de minimis” rules, these medical institutions can no longer request support by installing solar power plants on the roofs of hospitals or polyclinic buildings. . , ”Shared the Lithuanian Renewable Energy Agency, president of the Confederation Martynas Nagevičius.

At that time, the institutions shrug their shoulders: it will be three years and it will be possible to request support again.

Alegría: investment in renewable energy is stagnant

Andrius Džiaugys, director of the UAB Eternia Solar, LT, which implements solar energy projects, warns that already due to the de minimis limit, sustainable projects are stagnating.

“This support is very relevant for those who request the support of the Environmental Project Management Agency (APVA). The maximum de minimis support per company can normally be set at 200,000 EUR over a period of 3 fiscal years. And that is an amount significant when planning renewable energy solutions.But in recent years, during the pandemic, various companies have used various benefits provided by the state: support for employee downtime, employee testing for Covid-19, etc. ”, Says A. Džiaugys.

According to him, with the help of the aid, many companies have already reached the limit and, as the pandemic recedes, they can no longer direct investments in renewable energy sources, they can no longer apply for APVA calls.

“We are concerned about this problem, as support for post-pandemic recovery is becoming an obstacle to supporting sustainable investment in renewable energy. It is important and necessary to solve current problems, but it should not become a brake on decisions and investments that will determine not only the present, but also a greener future ”, says A. Džiaugys.

It seems strange to him that the state helped companies survive the pandemic, but now prevents further growth, the possibility of introducing renewable energy sources.

“When investment in renewable energy stops, it slows down the overall state goal of switching to renewable sources by ditching fossil fuels. Under the above circumstances, contractor companies employ fewer people, which translates to less money. for the state budget ”, explains A. Džiaugys.

In his opinion, the problem can be solved in two ways: by increasing the ceiling of the aid or by granting an exemption for renewable energies.

APVA: hospitals can be supported

Currently, APVA has issued a call for applications for support for solar and wind power plants. Jonas Balkevičius, director of the Agency’s National Programs Management Department, assures that hospitals, municipalities, schools and other state and municipal institutions can request such support, since they do not receive state aid. Businesses face problems.

“The de minimis aid is relevant for entities engaged in economic and commercial activities that plan to submit applications under the measure” Use of renewable energy sources (solar, wind) for the electricity needs of legal entities. ” The maximum de minimis aid per economic entity over a period of 3 fiscal years can reach 200,000 euros, ”explained J. Balkevičius.

When evaluating funding applications, the APVA verifies the amount of aid granted to the company through the registry managed by the Competition Council.

Competition Council: you will be able to apply again in one to three years

The Competition Council (CC) ensures that 200 thousand. the threshold does not include all aid granted under the de minimis regulations over a period of three years.

“The de minimis aid granted not only by the ministries, but also by municipalities, other institutions or establishments, even in certain cases, state companies are included,” explained the CC.

However, the CC does not have information on which aid measures applied in Lithuania have been classified as “de minimis” and which have been coordinated with the European Commission. The ministries did not provide such information.

The CC does not see a big problem due to the limits currently reached, it is temporary.

“Even if a given entity has exhausted its de minimis threshold today, after one, two or three years (depending on when the de minimis aid was granted in the current year, a year or two years ago), it will be able to receive all or part of the de minimis aid threshold ”, explains Ieva Michailovaitė, advisor to the Competition Policy Group of the CC.

According to it, the granting authorities themselves have the possibility to grant aid not under the de minimis scheme, but as State aid, which is not included in the limit.

“The CC has not received official information from the responsible institutions on the existence of such a problem and, consequently, on the solutions envisaged”, says I. Michailovaitė.

He stressed that the regulation on the limited validity of de minimis aid until December 31, 2023 and could be modified at a later stage after consultation.

However, the CC acknowledges that the small amount of support paid last year was far greater than ever. Yes during 2016-2018. the amount of small grants was less than 100 million. and in 2019 it reached 131 million. Last year, Lithuania contributed more than 330 million euros. Eur de minimis aid.

“It is also likely that a large amount of de minimis aid will be provided in 2021, as Lithuania has already provided more than 102 million LTL this year. Eur” de minimis aid “, – calculates the CC.

The Competition Council has no data on whether other countries have faced similar problems as Lithuanian companies that have relied on limits.

Although the CC administers the aid registry, it could not answer how many companies have already reached the 200 thousand mentioned. euro poster. The threshold is not calculated for a specific natural or legal person carrying out an economic activity, but for a “single company” as defined in the Regulation, a group of all the economic operators concerned. The CC does not have information on corporate affiliation. You can see how much help a company has received here.

Janulevičius: the threshold must be increased at least temporarily

At that time, the president of LPK, V. Janulevičius, assured that in the conditions of the pandemic there were 200 thousand. the euro threshold is too low.

“There are exceptional conditions during a pandemic; it would be possible not to count this year,” suggests V. Janulevičius.

He states that the LPK has asked the Ministry of Economy and Innovation for an adjustment of the support rules, but “the issue has been silenced.”

“This is a very relevant problem, I think that the vast majority of larger companies have already reached that limit and have exhausted it. As far as we know, some Eastern European bloc countries have raised that limit precisely for the pandemic and post-pandemic period. And we have to wait three years for the same 200 thousand again. euros ”, says V. Janulevičius.

He estimates that the time would correspond much more to 600 thousand. but this would require the attention of the institutions.

“The problem is that all the companies that also had downtime for COVID-19 have used that support for a long time. Because it includes both the salary coverage portion and the rental coverage portion. Companies cannot claim now, and the money remains unspent, even though the measures are specific, in line with the spirit of EU energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction. This period should simply be eliminated and not evaluated ”, considers V. Janulevičius.

According to the representative of the industrialists, the problem is relevant not only for large companies, but also for small companies, such as restaurants, farms, rural tourism farms or similar.