<p>There is a great interest in the subsidies for the insulation of public buildings</p>

Prague - There is a great interest in subsidies for the insulation of public buildings from the Green Savings program. Within the first hours of opening the option to submit applications electronically, municipalities and other organizations recorded over 500 projects in the system. "A total of 27 applications are already completed," said the director of the State Environmental Fund to ČTK five hours after the call for applications was opened. The fund will distribute a total of four billion crowns for the insulation of schools, hospitals, municipal offices, nursing homes, and buildings owned by foundations and churches.
    Since applicants had projects prepared from previous calls, Štěpánek expects that the opportunity to apply for funds will be short-lived. "The previous similar call lasted two days," he noted. The fund will close the call once the amount of subsidies from received applications exceeds six billion crowns. Officially, it is open until August 31, but the interest is enormous. The computer application Bene-fill, through which interested parties apply, according to Štěpánek, can handle the load, anticipating 320 accesses at one time.
    The specific amount of support will be determined by the fund based on the nature of the project in accordance with the rules for providing state aid. The amount can reach a maximum of 90 percent of the total eligible expenses, but no more than 200 million crowns for a single applicant. One municipality can apply for funding for a maximum of three projects, whose implementation fits within 200 million crowns. The minimum expenses for one project must reach 300,000 crowns.
    Municipalities and regions were preparing for the call. For example, 12 organizations established by the Plzeň region had applications ready last week totaling more than 250 million crowns. Hospitals, schools, and social care facilities want to use the funds for building insulation.
    The Green Savings program has so far been intended only for households and residential buildings. The fund only plans to support insulation of public buildings through the newly opened call.
    In total, the state can redistribute more than 17 billion crowns from the Green Savings program, which it obtained from the sale of free credits for carbon dioxide emissions. Japan purchased the majority share from the Czech Republic.