Renewable energy financing mechanism technology specific

RENEWFM-2026 is an EU lump-sum grant call to support deployment of new ground-mounted solar PV projects in Finland (excluding Åland) and ground-mounted solar PV with co-located BESS in specified Bulgarian districts, with a total indicative budget of €54,900,000. Eligible applicants are legal entities worldwide; project size must be between 10 MWp and 100 MWp, BESS in Bulgaria must share the same grid access point, have rated power 30–100% of PV capacity and at least 4 hours duration, and projects must operate for at least 15 years. Submission is single-stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (opening 03 March 2026, deadline 01 September 2026, 17:00 Brussels time) and projects must be commissioned by 01 March 2029 with permits obtained before grant signature. Awards are pay-as-bid lump sums transposed to EUR/MWh for ranking using fixed full-load hours (Bulgaria 1550 FLH, Finland 900 FLH) and subject to a ceiling price of €130,000 per MWp.

Renewable energy financing mechanism technology specific

Call at a glance

Essential facts

What it funds: competitive lump-sum grants for new ground-mounted solar PV projects and ground-mounted solar PV with co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS). Projects must deliver additional renewable electricity capacity and report generation annually.

Target locations and technologies:Bulgaria: ground-mounted solar PV with co-located BESS located in the districts of Pernik, Kyustendil or Stara Zagora. Finland: ground-mounted solar PV (excluding Åland). Projects count as standalone if connected via a single grid access point.

1. 1Available budget: €54,900,000 (call-level total).
2. 2Call type and model grant: RENEWFM-LS (RENEWFM Lump Sum Grants).
3. 3Deadline: 1 September 2026, 17:00 Brussels time (single-stage, opening 3 March 2026).
4. 4Eligibility: legal entities (public or private) from any country; projects must be located in the specified host MS and comply with call conditions.
5. 5Project size and timing: minimum 10 MWp, maximum 100 MWp; commissioning required by 1 March 2029 and at least 15 years of operation reporting.
6. 6Selection and price format: applicants bid EUR per MWp; bids are transposed into EUR/MWh using fixed full-load hours (Bulgaria 1550 FLH, Finland 900 FLH) and ranked lowest EUR/MWh.
7. 7Ceiling price: bids above €130,000 per MW are ineligible.
8. 8Payments: lump-sum disbursed against mandatory milestones and generation-based deliverables (progressive interim payments tied to construction and multi-year generation thresholds).

Key technical and compliance points

BESS requirements for Bulgaria: co-located and connected to the same grid access point; rated power between 30% and 100% of PV rated power; minimum 4-hour duration; metering to distinguish stored-on-site generation. Permits and grid connection documentation must be in place before grant signature (typically within 9 months after call closure).

Minimum generation and monitoring:Fixed expected full-load hours apply for assessment and payment compliance (1550 FLH for BG PV+BESS, 900 FLH for FI PV). Beneficiaries must report generation annually and meet multi-year FLH milestones; failure results in proportional reduction or recovery of the grant ¹.

Who should apply

Project developers, SPVs, public or private legal entities, international organisations and affiliated entities able to deliver utility-scale ground-mounted solar PV (and BESS where required). Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity and provide business plans, proof of land/access, evidence of financing and pre-development status (permits, grid-connection progress recommended).

How funding is awarded and paid

Competitive price-bidding process (pay-as-bid). Grants are lump sums calculated from the bid EUR/MW and project capacity (or EUR/kWh for some premium designs) and disbursed against contractually defined milestones and verified generation deliverables across construction and operation phases; no reimbursement of actual costs routine is required.

Practical note:Applicants must submit the standard RENEWFM application in the Funding & Tenders Portal (Part A and Part B, annexes including lump sum calculator, Gantt/timetable, co-financing declarations and business plan). Contact: CINEA-RENEWFM@ec.europa.eu ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates, eligibility rules and submission are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page RENEWFM-2026-INVEST-TECH-SPEC call page.

Renewable energy financing mechanism technology specific (RENEWFM-2026-INVEST-TECH-SPEC) — Funding Opportunity Overview

This single-stage, open call under the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM) provides lump-sum investment support for deploying new ground-mounted solar photovoltaic capacity, including mandatory co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS) in specified districts in Bulgaria, and standalone ground-mounted solar PV projects in Finland (excluding Åland). Projects will compete on price, pay-as-bid per MWp installed, with ranking based on an internalised €/MWh using fixed full load hours per host country. The call is managed by CINEA and is open for submission from 03 March 2026 to 01 September 2026, 17:00 Brussels time. Total indicative budget is €54,900,000.

Official sources:Topic page and submission: EU Funding & Tenders Portal — RENEWFM-2026-INVEST-TECH-SPEC; Call fiche: Call document (PDF).

Core Call Parameters

Scope, Technology, Locations and Capacities

The call funds new renewable electricity capacity through ground-mounted solar PV. In Bulgaria, projects must include co-located BESS; in Finland, storage is not required.

A project is considered standalone if it connects via a single connection point to the grid (or to the off-taker for off-grid).

Objectives and Expected Impact

• Support EU clean energy transition and contribute to the Clean Industrial Deal, the Paris Agreement, 2030 climate and energy targets, and 2050 climate neutrality.
• Enable Member States to fill gaps towards the indicative Union renewables trajectory under the Governance Regulation.
• Deliver additional, cost-effective renewable electricity capacity with reliable generation and annual production reporting for 15 years after commissioning.
• Enhance grid integration and system efficiency through co-located storage in Bulgaria, maximising grid access point utilisation and enabling higher renewable penetration.

Funding Mechanism and Bidding

Support is provided as lump-sum investment grants, paid against defined milestones and verified energy generation in early operating years. Applicants submit a price offer in EUR per MWp. For ranking purposes, offers are converted by the granting authority into EUR per MWh using fixed country-specific full load hours: 1550 FLH in Bulgaria and 900 FLH in Finland. Projects are ranked from lowest to highest transposed EUR/MWh. Ties are broken by earlier commissioning date and then by larger project capacity.

• Ceiling price: only price offers at or below €130,000 per MWp are eligible; higher-priced proposals are rejected.
• Award format: pay-as-bid (the awarded lump sum corresponds to the bidder’s EUR/MWp multiplied by the offered MWp).
• Country capacity quotas: Finland has a maximum of 400 MW for this call; Bulgaria has no maximum capacity restriction.
• Total call budget: €54.9 million; the authority may redistribute funds or not award all available funds depending on evaluation outcomes and appropriations from contributing Member States (Luxembourg is the contributing Member State for this call).

Eligibility and Applicant Requirements

Eligible Applicant Types

Applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be legal entities, public or private, established in any country worldwide. Natural persons are not eligible, except self-employed persons where the company has no separate legal personality. International organisations are eligible. EU bodies (except the JRC) are not eligible as beneficiaries.

Geographic Eligibility for Implementation

Projects must be implemented in the host Member States defined by the call: Bulgaria (districts of Pernik, Kyustendik, Stara Zagora) and Finland (excluding Åland).

Consortium Requirement

There is no mandatory consortium composition. Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant (mono-beneficiary), including project SPVs, or by multi-beneficiary consortia. The use of affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors, and in-kind contributors is permitted as per the grant rules. The coordinator role is automatic for mono-beneficiary grants or designated in multi-beneficiary grants.

Operational Capacity

• Applicants must demonstrate sufficient know-how, qualifications, and resources to implement projects of comparable size and nature.
• Provide recent activity reports and a list of previous RES projects: at least three RES generation plants over the last 10 years with cumulative capacity of 10 MW or more, and at least one solar PV plant in the last 5 years with capacity of 1 MW or more (if available). Experience of linked companies or EPC contractors may be considered.

Financial Capacity and Co-funding

Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient resources. A co-financing declaration or equivalent evidence is required to show that the total project investment is fully financed. Bank letters of support or internal funding commitments are acceptable evidence. There is no fixed EU co-funding rate; RENEWFM grants cover only part of total costs under the co-financing principle, with the balance typically met through market revenues and other financing.

Permits, Readiness and Timeline Requirements

• Construction and grid connection permits must be obtained before Grant Agreement signature and no later than 9 months after call closure.
• Commissioning deadline: 01 March 2029.
• Operations: projects must operate at least 15 years after entry into operation, with annual generation reporting each year.
• Bulgaria BESS specifications: shared grid access with PV; BESS rated power 30%-100% of PV MW; minimum 4-hour storage duration; on-site generation stored and later discharged counts towards FLH only if certified metering can distinguish it; grid-charged energy does not count.

Evaluation and Award

• Admissibility and eligibility checks per the call document.
• Award criteria: Relevance (pass/fail), Quality (pass/fail), then Price ranking by lowest transposed EUR/MWh.
• Tie-breaking: earlier commissioning date first; if still tied, larger capacity first.
• Indicative timeline: evaluation Sept–Oct 2026; information on results Nov–Dec 2026; Grant Agreement signature expected by June 2027.

Grant Structure, Milestones and Payments

This is a lump-sum grant with a defined distribution across mandatory work packages. There is no pre-financing. Payments are released upon achievement and verification of milestones and early operating performance.

Interim payments schedule: RP1 at commissioning (60%); RP2 at end of year n+2 (20%); RP3 at end of year n+4 (20%); RP4 at year n+15 (0%). If minimum outputs are not reached, the grant may be proportionally reduced; failure to enter into operation can trigger termination and full recovery.

Land Use and Environmental Requirements (Finland)

• Removal of forest and agricultural land in production is restricted to a cumulative maximum of 20% of total project area for panel installation (requirement does not apply to agri-PV where normal agricultural use continues beneath/around the panels).
• Forest definition: land with tree crown cover over 10%, area over 0.5 ha, trees capable of reaching €5 Mat maturity; peatland is excluded from forest definition.
• Agricultural land in production: arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops, kitchen gardens; peatland is not agricultural land; areas out of production since 01 January 2025 and not in crop rotation are considered not in use.
• Master plan designations do not override actual state on the ground; applicants must evidence compliance with maps, cadastral data, authoritative datasets (e.g., National Land Survey, CORINE land cover, Paikkatietoikkuna).

Key Administrative Details and Templates

• Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Proposal structure: Part A (administrative and summary budget) completed online; Part B (technical description) using the downloadable template, then uploaded as PDF.
• Mandatory annexes: Lump-sum Calculator (RENEWFM LS INVEST); Timetable/Gantt chart; Latest activity reports; List of previous projects (RES and solar PV); Co-financing declarations; Business plan and financial model spreadsheet; Optional permits and evidence of financing decisions.
• Proposal Part B page limit: 120 pages; formatting rules apply.
• Contact for call-related queries: CINEA-RENEWFM@ec.europa.eu; IT issues via the Portal IT Helpdesk.

Available templates and references:Timetable/Gantt chart template: Timetable (Gantt) — RENEWFM; Co-financing declaration: Co-financing declaration template; Lump-sum calculator: Calculator (RENEWFM LS INVEST); Application forms (sample): Application Form (Part A and B) — example; Model Grant Agreement: RENEWFM Lump Sum MGA.

Categorisation Answers (Detailed)

Eligible Applicant Types:Legal entities worldwide active in renewable energy project development and operation, including SMEs, large enterprises, utilities, project SPVs, investment platforms with legal personality, public bodies, municipalities, state-owned enterprises, international organisations, universities or research institutes with suitable implementation capacity, and nonprofits/NGOs that can develop and own assets. Natural persons are not eligible except self-employed sole traders where the company lacks separate legal personality. EU bodies (except JRC) cannot be beneficiaries.

Funding Type:Grant — lump-sum investment support paid against predefined work packages and milestones (no pre-financing; pay-as-bid EUR/MWp with ranking based on transposed EUR/MWh using fixed FLH).

Consortium Requirement:Single or consortium — there is no mandatory consortium composition. Single applicant SPVs are acceptable; multi-beneficiary arrangements are allowed but not required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Applicants may be established in any country worldwide. Implementation must occur in the specified host Member States and regions: Bulgaria (Pernik, Kyustendik, Stara Zagora) and Finland (excluding Åland).

Target Sector:Energy; renewable electricity; solar PV; energy storage; grid integration; cleantech; industrial-scale power; infrastructure.

Mentioned Countries:Bulgaria; Finland; Luxembourg (contributing Member State). Regions explicitly referenced: Åland (Finland; excluded). Bulgarian districts: Pernik, Kyustendik, Stara Zagora.

Project Stage:Late development to implementation. Projects must evidence high technical maturity, secure permits within nine months post-deadline, and achieve commissioning by 01 March 2029. Demonstration/commercial-scale deployment is expected (10–100 MWp per project) with operational reporting over 15 years.

Funding Amount:Award size is determined by the bidder’s price per MWp multiplied by the offered capacity, subject to a ceiling of €130,000 per MWp. Indicatively, per-project lump sums could range from about €1.3 million (10 MWp at ceiling) up to about €13 million (100 MWp at ceiling), depending on the bid. The total call budget is €54.9 million. Finland has a 400 MW country cap; Bulgaria has no cap.

Application Type:Open call; single-stage electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Nature of Support:Money — non-repayable lump-sum grants for investment support.

Application Stages:1 stage. Evaluation comprises admissibility/eligibility checks, Relevance and Quality pass/fail assessment, then price-based ranking and award.

Success Rates:Not specified in the call. Prior RENEWFM calls were oversubscribed, but no numerical success rates are provided for this topic.

Co-funding Requirement:Yes — the co-financing principle applies. Grants cover only part of total project costs. Applicants must demonstrate full financing of the investment via co-financing declarations or equivalent evidence (e.g., bank letters, internal funding commitments). There is no fixed co-funding percentage; support is capped by the price per MWp and competitive ranking.

Evaluation Criteria (Detail)

• Relevance (pass/fail): alignment with call objectives, EU climate goals, cost-effective RES deployment, and contribution to renewables targets.
• Quality (pass/fail): technical maturity (permits and feasibility to meet the commissioning deadline), financial maturity and operational quality (credible business plan, implementation schedule, risk mitigation, sufficient funding, and experienced team/partners).
• Price: bidder’s EUR/MWp transposed to EUR/MWh using fixed FLH (BG: 1550; FI: 900); lowest price ranks first.

Financial and Legal Set-up (Highlights)

• Form: Lump-sum grant, with contributions allocated to WP1/WP2/WP3/WP4 at 60%/20%/20%/0%.
• Payments: No pre-financing; interim payments triggered by commissioning and early years’ verified generation; continued reporting through year 15.
• Statistics attribution: 80% of RES statistics to the contributing country and 20% to the host country for 15 years; GOs remain governed under host Member State regimes.
• Liability and recoveries: standard RENEWFM Lump Sum MGA provisions apply; payments may be reduced or recovered if outputs are not delivered or delays/deficiencies occur.

Detailed Application Template Structure (to guide applicants)

1. 1Part A (online): General information; Participants; Budget; Other questions (Member State of implementation; absolute and relative GHG emission avoidance; cost-efficiency ratio). Declarations include eligibility, exclusion, financial/operational capacity, and lump-sum budgeting compliance.
2. 2Part B (upload as PDF using template): 1) Relevance: background, objectives, technology and scope (generation tech, storage, capacity in kW, expected annual output, site and grid point). 2) Quality: Technical maturity (permits, land, grid), Financial maturity (business model, market revenues, PPA if any, LCOE/LCOE drivers, CAPEX/OPEX, FRR/FNPV, LCOE, financing sources, EPC/guarantees), Consortium set-up (if any), Project teams and CVs by role, Management and QA/monitoring, Risk management (likelihood/impact, mitigations), Communication and visibility. 3) Price: EUR/kW (MWp) offer provided in the Calculator; respect ceiling price. 4) Additional criteria (if applicable): environmental impact, innovation. 5) Workplan: mandatory WPs and tasks, milestones and deliverables with due months; resource table; Timetable/Gantt chart (annex). 6) Other: ethics and security (typically not applicable). 7) Declarations: double funding, combination with other support, compliance with Mechanism rules.
3. 3Mandatory annexes: Lump-sum Calculator (price per MWp, capacity, total; partner breakdown); Timetable/Gantt chart (use provided template or equivalent Gantt); Latest annual activity reports; List of previous projects (RES last 10 years; solar PV last 5 years) with commissioning certificates; Co-financing declarations (or equivalent financing evidence); Business plan including market analysis, implementation plan, financial plan; Business plan financial model spreadsheet (xls, formulas visible).
4. 4Optional annexes strongly recommended: Permits or proof of permit applications; grid connection application or evidence; land use evidence (maps, cadastral data, land classification) especially for Finland’s 20% rule; proof of investment decision; EPC status; letters of intent (equipment providers, off-takers).

Practical Q&A Highlights Embedded in the Call

• Payments occur upon completion of specific milestones defined in the grant agreement WPs; no pre-financing.
• Applicants may be SPVs or parent companies; if an SPV will carry out the project and exists, applying via the SPV is encouraged; beneficiary changes can later be handled via grant amendments.
• Projects already under construction are eligible if not yet put into operation before grant signature.
• Minimum capacity per project is 10 MWp; bundling separate projects to meet 10 MWp is not allowed; separate applications are required for separate projects.
• Bulgaria bids must specify MWp/MWdc; fixed FLH are used for ranking to avoid speculative offers.
• BESS in Bulgaria must have a 10-year performance warranty meeting minimum efficiency, state-of-health, and cycle count, and certified metering to count on-site stored energy toward FLH.
• Guarantees of origin remain governed by host Member State rules and are not allocated to the contributing country.
• Hydrogen produced cannot qualify as RFNBO green hydrogen if powered by RENEWFM-supported installations under this call.
• Deforestation cap in Finland: cumulative limit of 20% combining forest and agricultural land in production; peatlands are neither forest nor agricultural land; master plans do not override actual land state.
• Optional pre-application items like EPC contracts are not mandatory at submission; describe current status and plan.

What This Opportunity Is About — Summary

This RENEWFM call competitively awards lump-sum investment grants to accelerate construction of utility-scale ground-mounted solar PV in Bulgaria (with mandatory co-located BESS) and Finland (excluding Åland). The mechanism is designed to deliver cost-effective additional renewable electricity generation aligned with the EU’s climate objectives and to help Member States meet their contributions toward the Union’s renewables targets. Applicants bid a EUR/MWp price and are ranked on a normalised EUR/MWh basis using fixed full load hours for each host country. Winning projects receive pay-as-bid lump sums tied to commissioning and early operational generation targets, with no pre-financing and clear WP payment shares of 60%/20%/20%/0%. Projects must be ready to permit swiftly (within nine months post-deadline), commission by 01 March 2029, and then report annual generation for 15 years. The call strongly emphasises implementation credibility, robust business planning, financing availability, and compliance with specific technical and land-use conditions, particularly the BESS performance and metering requirements in Bulgaria and the 20% land removal limit in Finland. With a €54.9 million budget, a price ceiling of €130,000/MWp, minimum 10 MWp and maximum 100 MWp per project, and a 400 MW country cap for Finland, the call targets late-stage developers and asset owners capable of delivering bankable assets at scale within the set timeline.

RENEWFM-2026-INVEST-TECH-SPEC: Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism Technology Specific

This call for proposals under the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM) provides investment support for ground-mounted solar PV projects, including those with co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS), to accelerate renewable energy deployment in Bulgaria and Finland. Luxembourg contributes €54,900,000 to the call, enabling cross-border cooperation to meet EU climate targets.

Objectives and Expected Impact

The primary objective is to contribute to the clean energy transition, Clean Industrial Deal, Paris Agreement goals, 2030 climate and energy targets, and 2050 carbon neutrality. Projects must realise additional renewable energy capacity cost-effectively and deliver annual production statistics to participating Member States, supporting Directive 2018/2001 (as amended) and the Governance Regulation trajectories.

Eligible Projects and Locations

Eligible activities focus on new renewable energy capacities connected via a single grid point:

• Ground-mounted solar PV with co-located BESS in Bulgaria (districts of Pernik, Kyustendil, or Stara Zagora). BESS must share the grid access point, have rated power 30-100% of solar PV capacity, and at least 4-hour storage duration.
• Ground-mounted solar PV in Finland (excluding Åland region).

Minimum project capacity: 10 MWp; maximum: 100 MWp (MW before grid connection). Commissioning required by 01 March 2029. Projects must operate for at least 15 years post-commissioning. RES statistics allocated 80% to Luxembourg, 20% to host states.

Eligibility Criteria

Who Can Apply

Legal entities (public or private) from any country worldwide. No consortium required. Natural persons ineligible except self-employed sole traders. EU bodies (except JRC) excluded. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures ineligible.

Project Requirements

• Construction and grid connection permits obtained before grant signature (max 9 months post-call closure).
• For Finland: Max 20% forest/agricultural land removal (excludes agri-PV). Definitions: Forest (tree cover >10%, >0.5 ha, trees reaching €5M); agricultural land excludes peatland.
• Ceiling price: €130,000 per MWp; bids above excluded.
• Ranking: Lowest transposed price per MWh (1550 FLH Bulgaria; 900 FLH Finland), then earliest commissioning, then largest capacity.

Operational Capacity

Evidence of experience: At least three RES projects (cumulative 10 MW, last 10 years); one solar PV project (1 MW, last 5 years). Business plan, co-financing declarations, and proof of funds required.

Funding Details

Total Budget:€54,900,000. Finland capped at 400 MW; Bulgaria uncapped.

Grant Form:Lump sum grants (RENEWFM-LS). Pay-as-bid based on bid price (EUR/MWp) x capacity.

Payment Schedule:60% upon construction completion (WP1); 20% end year n+2 (WP2); 20% end year n+4 (WP3). No prefinancing. Annual reporting for 15 years with -5% FLH tolerance.

Application Process

1. 1Single-stage submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
2. 2Opening: 03 March 2026; Deadline: 01 September 2026, 17:00 Brussels time.
3. 3Part A: Administrative (online); Part B: Technical (max 120 pages).
4. 4Mandatory annexes: Budget calculator, activity reports, previous projects list, Gantt chart, co-financing declarations, business plan.
5. 5Evaluation: Admissibility, eligibility, operational capacity, award criteria (Relevance/Quality pass/fail; Price ranking).

Info Day: 17 April 2026 (online). Contact: CINEA-RENEWFM@ec.europa.eu. Full details: EU Funding Portal. Call document: Call Fiche.

Key Deadlines and Risks

GA signature: June 2027. Non-compliance (e.g., delayed commissioning, insufficient FLH) may lead to grant reduction, suspension, or termination. Q&As available on portal (44+ items covering SPVs, EPC, land use, etc.).

Footnotes

1. 1Source: Official call documents and portal. Figures from 2026 call specifics; subject to updates.