Agro Perspectiva

EBRD improves energy efficiency of public buildings in Ukraine

28.12.2017 16:31 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — Kremenchuk is the first city in the country to receive financing under PSEEF

The city of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine is the first municipality in the country to receive funds from the EBRD’s Public Sector Energy Efficiency Financing Framework (PSEEF) approved on 13 December 2017, which consists of ˆ100 million of EBRD financing and ˆ15 million of the concessional co-financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). More than half of Kremenchuk’s public buildings, including kindergartens, schools and hospitals will undergo important energy efficiency improvements as a result of the project.

The city of Kremenchuk with a population of around 220 000 is the industrial heartland of the Poltava region. It has over 120 public buildings, which consume twice as much energy compared to similar buildings in central Europe. The majority of them require thermal insulations, modernisation of the energy distribution system, installation of individual heating substations, windows replacement and many other similar measures.

The EBRD is providing a financing package of ˆ9 million, which will consist of the Bank’s long-term loan of up to ˆ6 million, a ˆ1.5 million concessional loan from the CTF and a ˆ1.5 million grant from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (SSF). It will be provided to the city’s communal enterprise «Kremenchuzka Municipalna Energoservisna Kompanya» and will help achieve annual energy savings of 19.5 GWh (or ˆ1.3 million in monetary terms) in 66 buildings across the city.

Sevki Acuner, EBRD Director for Ukraine, said: «Total investment needs of public buildings in Ukraine are estimated to be up to ˆ 5 billion. They can potentially offer a significant energy cost savings of up to 60 per cent. In this respect, the first project of this kind we are doing in Kremenchuk is a good example of benefits the city and the country can reap. Proper energy efficiency measures can extend life-span of public buildings by 30–50 years and improve the comfort level and well-being of inhabitants. The project will also be a good incentive for the construction industry and the employment in the region».

Kremenchuk mayor Vitaliy Maletsky said: «Energy efficiency is a priority area in the City’s policy. The current ˆ9 million project for the improvement of energy efficiency of the City’s public buildings will allow us to refurbish our educational and healthcare facilities and to achieve the desired results including improvement of the comfort level, energy cost savings for the city budget, lower ÑÎ2 emissions and a longer life-span of our buildings. This is a pilot project that will be implemented using the energy service contract approach to ensure efficient implementation, sustainability and replicability of the results».

The project benefits from grant funding provided by the SIDA-EBRD Ukraine Energy Efficiency and Environment Cooperation Fund (SWUK) for the project preparation and implementation.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost ˆ11.74 billion through 390 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.