One hundred thirty-five projects for solar panels in public buildings and recharging points await the regional Executive to resolve the requests
«How can a Region that sells that it is the land where the sun lives not take advantage of it to effectively and timely manage the aid that comes from Europe to launch renewable energy projects?». That is the question that the Murcia City Council asks, and then criticizes the months of delay (up to two years in some of the lines) that the Autonomous Community has taken to summon the subsidies from the Feder funds and ‘Next Generation’ approved by the State for this type of initiatives. A time that the Consistory has been waiting for the regional Executive to resolve on the 135 projects presented for the placement of photovoltaic panels in public buildings and new recharging points for electric cars on public roads that exceed one million euros in aid (the investment is double).
There are 4 European-funded programs to which the Murcia Consistory has presented projects that have accumulated a delay in their resolution: the Moves 2020 Plan (or Moves II) and Moves III, both of Incentives for Efficient and Sustainable Mobility; and the two of incentives for the execution of facilities linked to self-consumption and storage, with renewable energy sources (such as photovoltaic or thermal).
The state call for the Moves 2020 Plan was published in the BOE on June 17, 2020, and from then on each autonomous community had to draw out its aid order. “The one in Murcia did not do so until January 2021, with the call published in the BORM on January 9, one of the last three to do so,” indicated municipal sources.
The only approved initiatives correspond to those aimed at calming traffic in San Nicolás and the bike lane between Ronda Sur and Torre de Romo
This program, financed with Feder funds and with a 50% subsidy, had four lines of action: acquisition of electric vehicles; charging points; bike loan system; and improvement of sustainable mobility. Murcia chose to present projects to the second and fourth, with the request for 27 recharging points on public roads (with an investment of around 250,000 euros and around 100,000 in subsidies), “which remains unresolved to this day, a year and a half after its call in the Region and two years at the national level».
The Community did approve the two projects presented for line 4: traffic calming in the San Nicolás neighborhood; and for the bike lane from Ronda Sur to Torre de Romo.
The Moves III program, already dependent on the ‘Next Generation’ and with 70% financing from European funds, was published in the BOE on April 14, 2021 (which practically overlapped with the regional call of the previous one). The Community opened this line on July 30, 2021, to which projects for the acquisition of electric vehicles and electric charging points could be submitted. The City Council requested aid at first for 7 points in municipal buildings that are pending resolution. In addition, yesterday, Friday, at the governing board, it was approved to request another 11, since the application period is still open.
In the latter case, the Consistory wants to locate these places in police stations in districts, libraries, market places, and local firefighters in Espinardo and Civil Protection in Murcia. In both cases, the investment exceeds 100,000 euros and it is intended to cover both the particular demand of municipal workers and that of the City Council, for use by the municipal fleet of electric cars.
The third and fourth aid programs, again financed with the ‘Next Generation’, focus on self-consumption installations from renewable energy sources: photovoltaic and thermal.
From the Glorieta they warn that there are communities that are receiving more funds for having executed the programs
In the case of photovoltaics, the BOE published the order on June 30, 2021, and the Community did so in the BORM of October 20 of that same year. At the beginning of November, the Murcia City Council presented a total of 91 files for installations of plates of around 10 kW in public buildings that represent an investment of two million euros (1.5 from European funds): they will be placed in social centers, for the elderly, municipal auditoriums, libraries, nursery schools, and sports buildings. The regional Executive had six months to resolve, a term that ended on May 3, although it has been extended until November.
“We have been late to everything, since there are autonomous communities that have already executed their programs, such as Moves II, and are now receiving money from the extension of the line, such as Catalonia, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia and Navarra”, they lamented
Some of the approved petitions will come out “shortly”, says the Community
The Autonomous Community is aware of the delay in the processing, and resolution, of the projects that have been presented by the local administrations, including the Murcian one, to the four programs financed with European funds and that seeking the transit of the cities towards a more sustainable and decontaminated model.
Given the complaint from the City of Murcia, sources from the Ministry of Business, Employment, Universities and Spokesperson, who runs Valle Miguélez, responsible for processing these European funds, explained that there are many requests, and few staff to attend to them. Likewise, they indicated that it was not possible to provide information on the status of particular projects, by municipality.
They explained that in the Moves II program the deadline for submitting applications closed on January 10. Of the 607 initiatives received, 451 have been reviewed to date and three concession orders have been issued to a total of 63 files. “A fourth order will be published shortly with 209 files for an amount of 1,269,128.27 euros,” they pointed out. The Community has denied 6 files and dismissed another 30,
“Currently, there are 40 applicants who have presented the justification and the payment order will come out shortly,” they added from the Ministry. It does not seem, according to the statements made by sources from the Murcia City Council, that it is any of their requests, since they still have no information on their status.
With regard to Moves III, the Community recalled that the application period is still open, and indicated that 1,220 applications for aid have been registered so far from the entire Region. “The files are under evaluation and being resolved,” they insisted.
Fourteen initiatives pending from the thermal line
The Official State Gazette (BOE) published on December 22, 2021 the aid line, charged to the ‘Next Generation’ funds, for thermal renewable energy installations, which has a subsidy of 70% of the costs of each project . The remaining 30% corresponds to the public initiative. Endowed with an initial budget of 150 million for the entire Spanish territory, they are managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). The Autonomous Community of Murcia has received, in the distribution, 4 million euros. To date, the regional government has not opened the line, although sources from the Ministry of Business assure that they will do so at the end of this month or in July. Meanwhile, the City Council of Murcia has prepared fourteen projects for months, waiting for the call to be carried out in the Palacio de los Deportes, Moneo building, Police and Fire Department of the Infante, football fields of Alquerías, Beniaján, Javalí Nuevo, Zeneta and Puebla de Soto; Mar Menor and Infante pools; and in the Prince of Asturias pavilion.
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