The Energy Efficiency Fund will provide an additional BGN 100 mln of municipal funding
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (EEREF) will provide municipalities with an additional BGN 100 mln in funding with preferential terms. Delian Dobrev. Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism made the announcement during the Investment Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency Conference hosted by the Bulgarian School of Politics and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bulgaria. So far, EEREF has been operating with limited funds to the amount of €10 mln Euro. "Together with the Ministry of Finance, we are looking at opportunities to ease credit conditions for municipalities even further," Dobrev said. The initial idea envisions zero-interest rate loans with a three-year free period. According to Dobrev, the main source of funding for energy efficiency is OP Competitiveness via the scheme "Energy Efficiency and Green Economy". It has a lending capacity of €150 mln in grants and another €150 mln in EBRD bridge loans for different projects. Any small or medium-sized business can apply for funding under the programme. The International Fund Kozloduy, overseeing €47 mln, provides another option to fund energy efficiency measures. The money will be distributed among 243 public buildings, mostly schools and kindergartens, Dobrev said. "At the end of November, we are going to open a public procurement procedure to select a contractor and a construction supervisor, and then, in March, we'll start implementing the measures," Dobrev said, adding that this is the biggest energy efficiency programme in the public sector so far.
Source: klassa.bg
(15.11.2012)