In the context of water savings, which has become necessary in light of the dramatic crisis related to drought in Italy, the treatment of oenological wastewater and the reuse of winery wastewater, among others, is becoming the only possible solution rather than an alternative. In this context, with the resolution of the Tuscany Regional Council n. 442 of April 19, 2022, the determinations for the application of the “Investments” Measure in the wine sector are included, as provided by the national support program for viticulture referred to in the EU Regulation n. 1308 of the European Parliament and Council of December 17, 2013. Wine companies operating in Tuscany can therefore access the investments for the purchase of treatment plants that allow for the treatment of wastewater in wineries and reuse it to significantly reduce water waste. The measure is applied for the 2023 wine campaign, valid for the financial year 2023, and is aimed at those companies that intend to improve their performance by strengthening their business resources, especially regarding market demand adaptation, and achieving greater competitiveness in the market. The same resolution provides that the operational modalities that fall under the “Investments” Measure, and all the technical-administrative procedures for submitting the application, defining their investigation, for controls, and for information management, must be defined by ARTEA based on national provisions and the modalities established by the AGEA Coordination Body. ARTEA is also entrusted with the investigative activity, the definition of the ranking of wine companies that can access the aid, the allocation of contributions, and administrative controls, and in general all operational modalities intended for managing the measure to allow ARTEA to have all the information to send to the European Commission regarding the effectiveness evaluation indices of the measure, as provided in the National Support Program for the wine sector. Priority criteria To access the call for proposals, there are criteria to be met that we list below:
- investments that have positive effects in terms of energy savings, overall energy efficiency, and sustainable processes from an environmental point of view (Article 36 of EU Regulation n. 2016/1149);
- businesses run by young farmers aged between 18 and 40;
- business that deals with the production of wine obtained from the processing of fresh grapes or from must of grapes obtained from the businesses themselves, purchased or delivered by members also for the purpose of marketing;
- new beneficiary, understood as a subject that has not received contributions related to the “Investments” Measure;
- businesses located in “disadvantaged areas” as per Article 32 of EU Regulation n. 1305/2013, with high landscape value or falling in lands confiscated from organized crime.
The aid applications are then included in a ranking and subsequently ordered based on the total score obtained from the sum of points assigned to individual priorities and declared by the beneficiary in the aid application. In case of equal scores, priority is given to the younger applicant as of the closing date of the call. If the applicant is a corporation or partnership, then the age of the legal representative is considered, while for a simple partnership, the age of the person who signed the application is referenced. Subsequently, priority is given to the application presented with the lower total contribution amount requested. What are the necessary requirements to access the call? At the time of the aid application and final verification application, the project for the purpose of scoring must include one or more of the following investments exclusively for the winery:
- purchase and installation of condensing boilers;
- purchase and installation of biomass boilers;
- purchase and installation of photovoltaic panels;
- purchase and installation of inverters or variable speed drives;
- purchase and installation of machinery equipped with inverters;
- purchase and installation of LED technologies;
- purchase and installation of systems for the treatment of winery wastewater and waste; (contact us to find a suitable solution for you)
- purchase and installation of a bottling plant equipped with at least two of the following functions: intelligent control, sterilization and integrated water recycling, acoustic insulation;
- purchase and installation of barriques and wine jars, built exclusively with PEFC or FSC certified wood (sustainably managed forests). The achievement of priority scoring is also contributed by barrique holders if they are made of PEFC or FSC certified wood.
Documentation to attach to the final verification and balance application The application to be submitted must be accompanied by an attachment that includes the following documentation:
- technical report, which must be signed by the beneficiary and must highlight the purchases that have been made, the results obtained, and any changes of supplier compared to the estimates attached to the aid application and admitted to financing;
- if the beneficiary has carried out interventions that result in positive effects in terms of energy savings, energy efficiency, and sustainable processes from an environmental point of view: 1) detail of the project carried out and the results obtained, quantified in terms of energy savings, overall energy efficiency, and sustainable processes from an environmental point of view; 2) demonstration that the investments made represent at least 30% of the total eligible and accounted expenditure;
- electronic invoices in XML format, contained in a compressed file supported by the system or a copy of the courtesy invoice in PDF format related to the purchases related to the project and accompanied by the relevant payment documents;
- georeferenced photos possibly accompanied by a “virtual tour” recording, detailing each individual item purchased and the corresponding serial number that must match the number indicated on the invoice;
- detailed technical report indicating the works carried out and all expenditure documentation for the recognition and eligibility of technical and/or design expenses;
- for plants and equipment, where required by current regulations, the CE conformity certificate must be presented. If the conformity certificate is not required, the declaration of conformity issued by the manufacturing company must be attached;
- any other document necessary to access the call.
If one or more required documents are missing, ARTEA may decide not to accept the aid application. ARTEA may also request the integration of additional elements and documents if deemed necessary.
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