The Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW) is the largest German promotional bank for private individuals, enterprises and public institutions (municipalities, communities, municipal companies and social organizations). In particular, a wide variety of subsidies and grant programs is available for efficient energy usage as well as utilization of renewable energy. The financing of such undertakings takes place either by loans with reduced rates of interest (partially, also in the form of debt relief) or via investment related subsidy payments.
A first overview of the subsidy and grant programs provided by KfW, can be obtained from the subsidy compass provided by the Association of Bavarian Energy Agencies or under the webpage „energiefoerderung.info“, a service provided by „BINE Informationsdienstes FIZ Karlsruhe GmbH“ in cooperation with the German Energy Agency GmbH (Deutschen Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena)).
Worth mentioning is also the KfW Program „Erneuerbare Energien – Premium“ (Renewable energy –premium), which among other offers loan repayment grants for Biomass CHP units, heating networks and storage units (heat storage based on renewable energy sources).
KfW Program „Erneuerbare Energien – Premium“ (Renewable energy – premium) (Program Nr. 271, 281)
Automatically eligible for public funding are among others stocked CHP units for burning solid biomass (from 100 kW up to 20 MW nominal heat output) with a payment of EUR 40 per kW nominal heating output.
Moreover, the construction of heating networks and storages under the condition that they are predominantly supplied by renewable energy sources is also a subject to public funding. However, this program cannot be combined with the BAFA-Program “Funding of Heat or Cooling networks in accordance to the CHP-Act” („Förderung von Wärme- bzw. Kältenetzen nach KWK-Gesetz“).