Virginia Barcones is aware of the Riaza project for which she has received an aid of almost one million euros from the Spain Plan

• The IDAE has granted the Segovian City Council 239,263 euros for the development of five photovoltaic solar installations with self-consumption mode and 694,792 euros for the replacement of 975 luminaires by LED lamps • In total in Castilla y León more than 68 M€ have already been distributed under this program

August 25, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, visited Riaza to know in depth the Energy Efficiency project developed by the City Council and for which it received 934,056 euros of the DUS 5000 Program dependent of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

During her visit to Riaza, Virginia Barcones has been accompanied by the government’s deputy delegate in Segovia, Marian Rueda, and by the mayor, Benjamín Cerezo. During his visit, he said that Riaza is a town that looks to the past thanks to its wealth of heritage and, likewise, “looks to the future by developing sustainable and less polluting projects”.

At the end of 2021, the City of Riaza registered in the IDAE a Comprehensive Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Project for which it requested assistance from the DUS 5000 Program. The Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE) then granted 934,056 euros for the development of a part of that project.

Specifically, 239,263 euros have been granted for the development of five photovoltaic solar installations with self-consumption mode without surpluses in the bus station, football field, clean point or sports hall.

Likewise, 694,792 euros have been granted for the renovation of the outdoor lighting facilities of the municipality. In this way, 975 existing luminaires will be replaced by LED lamps and the associated 26 frames will be renewed.

This government aid from the DUS 5000 program will mean significant savings for the coffers of the City of Riaza. “Savings of up to 75% that can be used for other services that will undoubtedly improve the quality of life of its inhabitants,” said the Government delegate.

The City Council of Riaza is one of the consistories of Castilla y León that have received aid from the DUS 5000 Program. Specifically, it is 68,285,840 euros that have been distributed in Castilla y León.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN WILL RECEIVE 150 MILLION

The Sustainable Urban Development Program (DUS 5000) managed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is intended to promote unique clean energy projects in municipalities of the demographic challenge and has an endowment of 675 million euros, which is financed with the European Recovery and Resilience Mechanism being included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

It was originally endowed with 75 million but aroused so much interest that two budget increases of 250 and 350 million were assumed to be able to meet a good portion of the requests that were on the waiting list.

The Government manages these funds through IDAE, an entity under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the direct granting of aid to local beneficiary entities. The aid is not granted through a competitive competition procedure, but the files are resolved in order of receipt.

The deadline for submitting applications was November 7, 2022, after more than a year of validity. At the moment, the IDAE is in the process of individualized evaluation of each file submitted, before issuing the favourable opinion on the granting of aid.

Castilla y León, with 429 files within the budget of the call for applications, is the autonomous community with the highest number of files admitted. Of these 429 files, 266 already have a favourable resolution. The files that already have a favorable resolution amount to more than 68 million euros to date. The local entities of Castilla y León will end up receiving almost 150 million euros of the 675 with which the program counts, that is, 22 percent.