Negotiations have begun for the 44 projects that were shortlisted to receive a share of the nearly 58 million euro available under the 2010 call for project proposals of the Intelligent Energy - Europe programme. These new projects are set to contribute to the wider use of renewable energy sources and increased levels of energy efficiency across Europe.

The 44 projects were shortlisted out of 349 proposals submitted by the 2010 Energy Intelligent Europe call for proposals closing date last June. The proposals were tabled by some 3,000 organisations based in the 27 EU Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Croatia.

Nearly half of the applicants for the 2010 call are small and medium sized enterprises, followed by a substantial number of public authorities and non-governmental organisations. For the second year in a row, the number of projects in the field of transport has considerably increased. The negotiations for the 44 new projects shortlisted under CIP-IEE-2010 Call will continue until March, when the first projects are expected to kick-off.

Under the Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) programme funded with 730 million  euro for the period 2007-2013, aims to reinforce EU’s efforts to meet its 2020 energy targets to ensure a secure and cost competitive supply of energy while fighting climate change. The programme runs annual calls for proposals which cover up to 75% of the eligible project costs and has co-funded nearly 450 projects to the date.

Projects shortlisted under the 2010 call addressed many different issues related to energy challenges such as the generation of renewable electricity from ocean waves and tidal streams, biomass and bio-waste as renewable sources of energy, projects focused on how to reduce consumer's energy consumption or to created reliable sources of information of household consumption, the pollution created by energy congestion or way for local authorities to share best practices in the field of transport, renewable energy in urban planning and energy-efficient refurbishment.