PNRR: no more gas boilers for new buildings and renovations

Pnrr: what will be the fate of gas boilers?

In order to comply with the principle Dnsh (Do no significant harm) in the context of Pnrr new check lists have been published by the MEF.
But let’s try to do some clarity in order to understand what the future of gas boilers.

The first aspect to highlight is that the interventions financed by the Pnrr (national recovery and resilience plan) must respect the principle of the DNSH, i.e. they must not cause any damage to the environment.

What will be the effect on the measures they envisage new buildings of buildings and renovations or redevelopment of residential and non-residential properties?

The rules on gas boilers

They are Italy tomorrow, the site dedicated to the Pnrr deals with the problem of financing gas boilers. In order to be considered eligible under the DNSH profile, plants must possess specific requirements.

If we start from the assumption that gas boilers are practically found in almost all homes, it is evident that the problem is particularly significant.

Pnrr: nuove check list

Two checklists have been published in Italia Domani that the competent subjects are required to complete in the case of measures concerning the construction of buildings and the renovation of residential and non-residential properties which provide for the exclusion of gas boilers.

These are checklists that are associated with the technical sheets contained in the Operational Guide concerning compliance with the DNSH principles.

When should such checklists be used?

You will need to use checklists:

• for the measures which provide for an explicit ban on including gas boilers in interventions of the Pnrr;
• for measures for which compliance with the DNSH principles is ascertained through the use of an exclusion list.

It is clear that given the situation, the aim is to market new products with high energy efficiency in line with the requirements of the European Union.

Gas boilers: European legislation

In most of the buildings in order to heat the rooms use is made of gas boilers that exploit fossil carbon. These sources lead to more and more environmentally harmful CO2 emissions and higher and higher costs.

The European regulationsfollowing the numerous connected problems, have imposed the adoption of alternative measures.

Reference is made to EU Regulation 241/2021, according to which, all investment measures financed by the Pnrr must comply with the principle of Dnsh.

If the exclusion of gas boilers is not possible, it is necessary to ascertain their compliance with the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and the related Commission Regulations, such as Commission Regulation N°813/2013 and the Product Labeling Directive energy 2010/30/EU.

What should the public administration do?

The public administrations involved in the case of building interventions will have to ensure that each measure does not cause significant damage to the environment in accordance with the objectives set.

The specific requisites and criteria must be reported in what are the most relevant programmatic and implementing acts so that there is no compromise of the environment.

Very precise warnings and monitoring are necessary, which must be contained in the planning documents, in the testing and in the certificate attesting to the regular execution of the interventions.

Public administrations are therefore required, explicitly, to disclose the criteria that allow compliance with the DNSH in the financing decrees and in the technical tender documents, with provision for the automatic suspension of payments and the revocation of the procedure.

When are gas boilers still allowed?

In conclusion, the gas boiler cannot be installed if it is expressly and absolutely prohibited financing and in cases where their ineligibility can be deduced from exclusion list.

Conversely, when there is no explicit exclusion of funding and when non-eligibility is not envisaged on the basis of an exclusion list in line with the DNSH, only in this case will they be admitted. Under what conditions?

It will always be necessary, even for plants that are not strictly excluded, to ensure compliance with the DNSH requirements and principles in order to ensure compliance with EU energy labeling regulations.

The requirement of the DNSH implies that the interventions admitted by the PNRR of our country do not cause any ecological and environmental damage

The requirement of the DNSH states that the interventions envisaged by the national PNRRs do not cause any significant damage to the environment.

The interest of the European Union in environmental protection is particularly marked and therefore also for our country it is necessary to adopt all the appropriate measures to adapt.