- Call status: planned. Applications cannot yet be submitted.
- Planned date: Q4 2026 – according to the schedule published by Poland’s NFOŚiGW as at 21 August 2026. The final opening and closing dates of the call have not yet been published.
- Maximum grant: up to 85% of eligible costs, subject to meeting the programme conditions. For investments that do not achieve at least 7 points, and for ESCO/EPC projects – up to 49%.
- Programme budget: up to PLN 2 billion, including up to PLN 1.8 billion in non-repayable financing and up to PLN 200 million in repayable financing.
- Energy requirements: the scope of the energy modernisation must follow from an energy audit demonstrating at least a 30% reduction in primary energy demand and at least a 25% reduction in final energy demand compared with the existing condition.
The new Modernisation Fund programme “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Educational Buildings” is intended to finance comprehensive modernisation of educational facilities that delivers a genuine reduction in energy use. From the perspective of a local government or school governing body in Poland, the key point is that the programme is not simply a list of construction works: the investment scope must result from the audit and meet two parallel energy thresholds.
This is a separate instrument from the earlier Polish National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO) programme for schools. Information about the previous call, its support intensity or its documentation should therefore not be carried over automatically to the new Modernisation Fund programme.
What is the “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Educational Buildings” programme?
The programme is financed from the Modernisation Fund and is intended to support comprehensive improvements in the energy efficiency of educational buildings. Poland’s NFOŚiGW also indicates the possibility of using renewable energy sources, increasing the energy self-sufficiency of facilities and implementing optimised investments under ESCO/EPC arrangements.
The programme budget is up to PLN 2 billion. Up to PLN 1.8 billion is to be allocated to non-repayable forms of support and up to PLN 200 million to repayable financing. The programme covers 2026–2030, with commitments to be made by the end of 2029 and funds to be disbursed by the end of 2030.
Within the financing structure, this programme should be viewed as one of the instruments available for investments that improve energy efficiency. We describe the broader funding options on our page on grants for energy efficiency.
When is the 2026 call planned?
According to the current schedule of Poland’s NFOŚiGW, the call for the “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Educational Buildings” programme is planned for Q4 2026 and is to be run on a continuous basis. As at 3 September 2026, the schedule lists the programme as a “planned call”, and applications cannot yet be submitted.
This is an important update compared with earlier announcements referring to Q3/Q4 2026. In practice, before preparing the final application, the latest schedule, the call announcement and the complete set of attachments published by NFOŚiGW should be checked.
Modernisation Fund vs the earlier Polish KPO programme for schools – do not combine them
The earlier programme “Replacement of Heat Sources and Improvement of the Energy Efficiency of Schools” was financed from Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO). In February 2026, NFOŚiGW reported 232 signed agreements covering 434 schools and preschools. More recent material from Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment (MKiŚ), published in August 2026, states that agreements already cover 500 educational facilities and that KPO support exceeds PLN 1.78 billion.
The new programme “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Educational Buildings” is financed from the Modernisation Fund and is a separate instrument. It has a different budget, its own support-intensity rules, a points threshold, an eligible-cost limit per 1 m² and a separate route for ESCO/EPC projects. A project prepared for 2026 must therefore be based on the documentation of the new programme, not on the conditions of the completed KPO call.
Who can receive funding?
Under the current programme, beneficiaries may include:
- local government units in Poland,
- other legal entities that are the governing body of a school or educational facility – subject to the detailed condition set out in section 7.3 point 10 of the priority programme.
For an entity other than a local government unit, eligibility should not be assumed solely because it carries out educational activities. Before preparing the full documentation, both the entity’s status as the governing body and the compliance of the specific facility with the programme catalogue should be confirmed.
Which educational buildings are covered by the programme?
The catalogue is broader than primary and secondary schools alone. The current documentation lists buildings used by:
- schools,
- preschools,
- continuing education institutions,
- vocational education centres,
- sectoral skills centres,
- youth educational centres,
- youth sociotherapy centres,
- special education and care centres,
- special educational centres,
- rehabilitation and education centres – within the scope resulting from the programme and the Polish Education Law.
The mere fact that a building is used for educational purposes should not be treated as automatic confirmation of eligibility. For non-standard facilities, the entity’s status, the building function and the relevant Polish regulations referred to in the programme must be considered together.
What investments can be supported?
The programme covers investments intended to improve the energy efficiency of educational buildings, with the option of using renewable energy sources. At the audit stage, typical areas for analysis may include the building envelope, heat source and heating system, ventilation, domestic hot-water preparation, controls, lighting and renewable energy sources.
This is not a closed catalogue of eligible costs for the new call. The final eligibility of individual works and expenses must be checked against the documentation published with the call. At this stage, however, it is already possible to develop a technical option that delivers the required energy performance, remains within the programme’s cost conditions and reflects the actual condition of the facility.
How much funding is available?
| Project option | Grant | 7-point threshold | PLN 2 000/m² limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project meeting the standard programme conditions | up to 85% of eligible costs | at least 7 points | applies |
| Project that does not achieve at least 7 points | up to 49% of eligible costs | below 7 points | applies |
| ESCO/EPC project | up to 49% of eligible costs | not assessed using the points criteria | does not apply |
| Project involving the elimination of an inefficient heat source using solid fossil fuel | up to 85% of eligible costs, subject to the other programme conditions | not assessed using the qualitative points criteria | applies |
The key word is “up to”. The 85% level is not an automatic grant for every project. The programme conditions must be met, including the energy requirements and – under the standard route – a minimum score of 7 points.
The programme also provides for a loan as supplementary financing. There is no requirement to combine the grant with a loan. In the specific cases identified in the programme – including ESCO/EPC and investments eliminating inefficient heat sources using solid fossil fuels – supplementary loan financing may be increased to 100% of eligible costs. The financing structure must always be read from the conditions of the specific call; the loan should not be treated as additional percentage points of grant support.
When planning the financing structure, it is also worth analysing financing for energy modernisation and preparing an investment option before the call opens.
What does the minimum 7-point threshold mean?
The 7-point threshold has a direct financial impact. Under the standard route, an investment that scores at least 7 points in the qualitative assessment may apply for a grant of up to 85% of eligible costs. If the project does not reach the minimum 7 points, the maximum grant intensity falls to 49%.
For this reason, the score should not be analysed only after the cost estimate and documentation have been prepared. If the assessment criteria indicate a risk of scoring below the threshold, this may completely change the project’s financing structure. The detailed criteria and the method of documenting them should be checked in the documentation of the specific call once it is announced.
An exception applies, among other cases, to investments that eliminate inefficient heat sources using solid fossil fuels – these projects are not assessed under the qualitative points criteria. Separate rules also apply to ESCO/EPC.
How does the PLN 2 000 eligible-cost limit per 1 m² work?
Under the standard route, the unit eligible cost, calculated as eligible costs divided by the floor area with controlled air temperature, may not exceed PLN 2 000/m².
Example: if a building has 5 000 m² of floor area with controlled air temperature, the level of PLN 2 000/m² corresponds to PLN 10 million of eligible costs. Assuming all other conditions are met, a grant of “up to 85%” would theoretically mean a maximum of PLN 8.5 million. If the project declared PLN 12 million of eligible costs, the indicator would be PLN 2 400/m², exceeding the programme limit.
This should not be taken to mean that any excess can always simply be moved to ineligible costs. The structure of the budget and the eligibility of individual items must be checked against the call documentation. The limit should be calculated at an early stage because it may affect the project scope, sequence of works and financing structure.
The PLN 2 000/m² limit does not apply to investments implemented under an ESCO/EPC arrangement.
The energy audit is the basis for defining the modernisation scope
In this programme, the audit is not merely a formal attachment to a project whose scope has already been fixed. NFOŚiGW requires the scope of the energy modernisation to follow from an existing energy audit. This means that the audit should precede the final definition of the investment scope and cost estimate.
For an educational facility, the starting point may be a building energy audit; for schools and other educational institutions, the dedicated school energy audit route can also be used.
Auditor’s comment: if the programme requires reductions in both primary and final energy, the audit should not merely confirm a pre-defined list of works. It should first examine alternative options and identify a scope that can realistically meet both programme thresholds.
Why can’t a 30% reduction in primary energy and a 25% reduction in final energy be assumed in advance?
The programme requires at least a 30% reduction in primary energy demand and at least a 25% reduction in final energy demand compared with the existing condition. Both requirements must be analysed in parallel.
Before calculations are performed, it is not credible to say that “insulating the school and replacing the heat source will definitely be enough”. The result depends, among other things, on the building geometry and thermal performance, the condition of the systems, the type of ventilation, the heat source, energy carriers, the occupancy schedule and the interaction between the individual improvements.
The reduction in final energy shows how the amount of energy needed to operate the building systems changes after their efficiencies are taken into account. Primary energy additionally reflects how the energy carriers used are produced and supplied. Changing the heat source, using renewable energy or modernising the systems can therefore affect the two indicators differently.
In practice, the audit should compare several modernisation options. One option may reduce final energy use effectively but fail to deliver a sufficient reduction in primary energy. Another may achieve the required effects but be too expensive in relation to the PLN 2 000/m² limit. Only after these interdependencies have been assessed can an option be identified that makes sense as the basis for the grant-funded project.
We describe the preparation of this type of document in more detail in our article on the building energy audit process. In this programme, however, the key issue remains the audit result in relation to the specific conditions of the call.
Why should the audit be carried out before the full application documentation is assembled?
Preparing a grant-funded project in the reverse order – first the design, cost estimate and approvals, and only then the audit – creates a risk that the selected scope will not achieve the required 30% and 25% reductions or will not be optimal in terms of eligible costs.
An earlier audit makes it possible to:
- verify whether the building has sufficient energy-saving potential,
- compare options instead of adopting a single list of works,
- check both required energy thresholds,
- estimate the scale of the investment against the PLN 2 000/m² limit,
- identify the data still needed for the design and application,
- reduce the risk of costly changes to documentation prepared too early.
The audit does not replace the building design, cost estimate or documents required by the funding institution. Its role is to structure the technical decision before the most time-consuming part of investment preparation begins.
How should a school or educational facility prepare for the planned call?
- Confirm the beneficiary and facility type. Check whether the applicant and the building fall within the programme catalogue.
- Determine the floor area with controlled air temperature. This will be needed, among other things, to check the PLN 2 000/m² limit.
- Collect technical documentation and operating data. The better the input data, the fewer assumptions have to be reconstructed during the audit.
- Carry out the audit and compare options. Do not limit the analysis to a single, pre-defined package of works.
- Check the 30% primary-energy and 25% final-energy thresholds. The option intended for the application should meet both conditions.
- Check the budget against the PLN 2 000/m² limit and the scoring rules. This ensures that the financing structure is based on the programme’s actual parameters.
- Only then finalise the application documentation. Once the call is announced, compare the assumptions with the rules, criteria, eligible-cost catalogue and attachment templates.
What data should be collected before the audit begins?
| Area | What to prepare | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Building | floor plans, sections, floor areas, volume, year of construction, information on previous modernisations | basis for the energy model and survey |
| Building envelope | data on walls, roofs, floors/ceilings, windows and doors | assessment of heat losses and thermal-modernisation options |
| Heating and domestic hot water | heat source, capacities, efficiencies, substation or boiler room, controls, system | assessment of system efficiency and possible heat-source changes |
| Ventilation and cooling | system type, air-handling units, heat recovery, operating schedule, air conditioning | determination of energy use and modernisation potential |
| Energy | bills and consumption data for electricity, heat and fuels covering as representative a period as possible | verification of the usage pattern and calculation results |
| Use | operating hours, number of users, school break and holiday periods, additional building functions | accurate representation of the operating profile |
| Planned works | initial concepts, cost estimates, designs, information on planned renewable energy sources | comparison of the investor’s plans with the audit options |
| Formal status | documents concerning ownership or management, the governing body and any heritage protection | preliminary assessment of project feasibility and eligibility |
Missing parts of the documentation do not always prevent the audit from starting. However, gaps should be identified immediately because they may affect the schedule for further design work and preparation of the application.
ESCO/EPC – a separate route within the programme
NFOŚiGW provides for a separate, continuous call for investments implemented under ESCO/EPC arrangements. Under this route, the grant is to cover up to 49% of eligible costs. ESCO/EPC projects are not assessed using the qualitative points criteria and are not subject to the PLN 2 000/m² limit.
This may be important for local governments and school governing bodies considering a modernisation linked to guaranteed energy performance and settlement based on savings. It does not, however, mean that ESCO will automatically be better than conventional grant-funded implementation. The cost of capital, contract term, allocation of risks, savings guarantees and the scope of the parties’ responsibilities must be compared.
We provide more information on preparing such projects on our ESCO financing page.
How should preparations be planned before the call opens?
At the planned-call stage, the most valuable work is that which will remain useful regardless of the exact date on which the application form opens. This primarily means organising data, confirming the status of the facility, carrying out the technical survey and preparing an audit that compares alternative options.
By contrast, it is not advisable to freeze the entire project on the basis of an unofficial list of attachments or to assume that documentation from the old Polish KPO programme will be accepted without changes. Once the call is published, a final compliance check against the current rules and criteria must be carried out.
If a local government or school governing body is preparing one building or a larger portfolio of facilities, Energy Trend can support the technical stage through an audit, comparison of modernisation options and preparation of the data needed for the subsequent financing decision. The technical scope can then be combined with an analysis of financing for energy modernisation.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Modernisation Fund call for the thermal modernisation of schools already opened?
No. As at 3 September 2026, the NFOŚiGW schedule lists the status as “planned call” with a planned start in Q4 2026. There is not yet any basis for stating that applications can be submitted.
Can every school receive an 85% grant?
No. The programme provides for a grant of up to 85% of eligible costs if the conditions are met, including, as a rule, achieving at least 7 points. For projects that do not achieve 7 points and for ESCO/EPC projects, the grant is up to 49%.
Is a school energy audit required?
Yes – the modernisation scope must follow from the energy audit. The audit must demonstrate at least a 30% reduction in primary energy demand and at least a 25% reduction in final energy demand compared with the existing condition.
Does the PLN 2 000/m² limit apply to ESCO/EPC?
No. Under the current programme, the PLN 2 000/m² unit eligible-cost limit does not apply to investments implemented under ESCO/EPC arrangements.
Is the new Modernisation Fund programme a continuation of the KPO call?
No. It is a separate programme financed from the Modernisation Fund. The earlier Polish KPO programme had a separate budget, call and support rules, so its documentation should not be treated as the rules for the new programme.
Official sources and verification date
This article was verified on 3 September 2026 against the current NFOŚiGW programme page, the NFOŚiGW call schedule and official materials concerning the earlier Polish KPO programme for schools.
