Sorainen provided legal assistance in the development of a concept and business model for the Riga Energy Efficiency Fund (REEF) from the Riga Energy Agency.
The development of the REEF concept
The development of the REEF concept is a crucial step towards the city co-financing energy-efficient renovations of resident homes. The implementation of REEF would help achieve Riga’s climate goals, saving 410,784 MWh of energy per year and reducing CO2 by 59,563 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The Sorainen team’s financial and state relations experts helped with the establishment of a legal framework for the fund, paying special attention to the requirement for the REEF to independently attract new funds, in order to finance the necessary funds for the renovation of the housing fund. The possibilities for the REEF to be established as an alternative investment fund or municipal capital society were evaluated, as well as the opportunities for using securitisation as one of the sources of funding.
The evaluation of the state support framework was crucial in the development of the concept, as EU legal acts limit the ability of municipalities to implement REEF-scale projects without significant participation from the private sector. During the development of the project, the legal regulation of owners’ decision-making in the management, administration and implementation of energy efficiency measures was analysed, and proposals were made for amendments to normative acts in order to facilitate more effective decision-making and implementation by owners.
Our team
The team was led by partner Rūdolfs Eņģelis, together with senior associates – Santu Rubīnu, Katrīni Pļaviņu-Miku un Natāliju Grāveli.
