Almennt um Orkusjóð

The role of the Energy Fund (Orkusjóður) is to promote the efficient use of the country's energy resources through grants or loans, particularly for actions aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the utilization of domestic renewable energy sources.

The Energy Fund also supports projects that promote energy security and competitiveness in the energy sector, based on the energy policy, innovation policy, regional development policy, and the government's climate policy.

The state is responsible for the fund's commitments, and administratively it falls under the minister.

The National Energy Authority (Orkustofnun) manages the daily operations of the Energy Fund under the supervision of the fund's board.

See more in the lög um Orkusjóð nr. 76/2020.

The Energy Fund (Orkusjóður) regularly announces grants for energy transition projects aimed reducing use of fossil fuels and instead utilizing renewable and environmentally friendly energy.

The Fund's grant contribution is usually one-third (33%) of the cost, excluding value-added tax (VAT).

The Energy Fund is a competitive fund, and the main evaluation criteria are how much oil (or other fossil fuel) usage is reduced for a given grant amount – the so-called "price per liter" criterion. Other criteria depend on the projects and priorities assigned to the fund at any given time, but include connections to production and service industries, project credibility, the speed at which projects are implemented, and their importance in further accelerating the energy transition with similar equipment or technology.

The Fund does not take financial risk, as the main principle is not to disburse grants until the completion of projects, when the agreement with the Fund has been fulfilled.

It should be noted that the Energy Fund is tasked with accelerating the energy transition using proven technology. This technology may be newly developed, provided it is a fully tested market product.

The grant recipients of the Energy Fund are a diverse group, ranging from individuals to municipalities and larger companies. Anything that promotes the energy transition, large or small, can be relevant to the Energy Fund.