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Thousands of Climate Bonus subsidy applications are facing delays of up to a year due to high demand and frequent form errors, but the Environment Ministry plans new support measures, online improvements, and a future pre-financing system to speed up payments.
The 'Klimabonus Wunnen' scheme – Climate Bonus Living scheme – offers financial aid for households investing in sustainable home energy upgrades, such as solar panels, thermal systems, or heat pumps. Currently, around 14,000 applications are awaiting processing, the vast majority relating to photovoltaic installations.
According to Aurélie Schreiner, coordinator of the Financial Aid Unit at the Environment Agency, demand has surged for several reasons: the subsidy rate was increased to 62.5% under the Tripartite agreement from the current 50%, with the deadline for eligible contracts extended twice, most recently to September 2024. In addition, Schreiner said that persistently high electricity prices have encouraged more people to invest in solar energy, while some municipalities offer up to 30% extra support on top of the state aid.
Processing delays currently range from up to 10 months for applications submitted online via MyGuichet.lu, to as long as 13 months for those sent on paper. Schreiner strongly recommends using the digital submission method, since online forms are verified through LuxTrust, ensuring that key details, such as names and addresses, are automatically correct. She added that paper applications, by contrast, often contain basic mistakes that slow the process down.
Schreiner explained that these are often simple administrative errors, noting that even when a file is incomplete, it is still processed progressively rather than restarted from scratch once missing documents are provided.
According to Schreiner, the Environment Agency has introduced a new "Helpdesk strategy" in recent months to reduce errors as much as possible. She explained that this involves contacting installers directly to offer personalised support, reviewing current applications with them, and advising on how to improve submissions. Schreiner noted that installers are also being encouraged to educate their clients so that requests are submitted as completely as possible from the outset.
A new FAQ section answering the most common questions will soon be published on the agency's website, and external support has been brought in to help clear the backlog.
For the future, the government is preparing an automatic pre-financing system so that beneficiaries no longer have to pay upfront before receiving their subsidy, though the technical details of this measure are still being finalised.
Finally, the process is expected to become faster once planning permission for photovoltaic systems is no longer required in most cases. According to the Union of Luxembourg Cities and Municipalities (Syvicol), such permits should in future be needed only for buildings protected under heritage rules.
