The Second National Round Table on Financing Energy Efficiency in Poland was held on 25th of May 2022 stationary in Warsaw. 

The main topics of the discussion were: 

• Integrated services for improving energy efficiency – “one-stop-shop-services” 
• Improving energy efficiency in SMEs 
• Energy self-sufficiency – a response to the needs of citizens, municipalities, the country and Europe

The event gathered 80 participants, including 24 from the financial sector.

Session 1 discussed one-stop-shop approaches for improving energy efficiency, highlighting challenges for creditworthy investors. Recommendations included creating true one-stop-shop models, conducting user experience tests, and increasing financial support for training and thermomodernization projects. Suggestions also involved covering outreach costs, incentivizing financial institutions, and addressing information demand. The importance of aligning aid with  implementing “Efficiency First,” and supporting higher-cost projects was emphasized.

In Session 2, discussions focused on challenges in increasing energy efficiency in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across three key stages: 1) identifying modernization needs, 2) financing investments, and 3) implementing projects. Conclusions included the need for education on energy efficiency concepts, simplifying communication, subsidizing energy audits for SMEs, and promoting good examples to encourage audit participation. Intermediation by banks, standardizing energy audit rules, and central automation of engineering for repetitive projects were suggested. Additionally, recommendations included universal support mechanisms, combining “white certificates” with loan mechanisms, addressing program fragmentation, and ensuring program sustainability.

In the discussion on energy self-sufficiency in Session 3, the focus was on balancing supply and demand using local biofuels, solar, water, wind, and geothermal energy. Participants stressed the importance of energy storage and the need for European-level climate policy support. Key points included the potential of energy clusters for efficient energy management, the importance of distributed energy sources beyond micro-installations, and the benefits of joining clusters for municipalities. The impact of the war in Ukraine on energy transformation, concerns of residents regarding boiler replacements, and the need for low-energy model houses to promote deep modernization were also discussed. The session emphasized the growing significance of the concept of energy self-sufficiency in the context of changing energy and fuel costs.