Despite offering huge economic returns, implementing energy efficiency measures encounters widespread and systemic barriers. One solution is developing effective and scalable financing and implementation mechanisms.
... See More + Energy Efficiency Revolving Funds (EERFs) provide financing and related services to its clients to facilitate their investment in energy efficiency projects. Such funds facilitate access to finance in the near term while paving the way for commercial financing in the medium to long term, particularly in the public sector.
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Despite offering huge economic returns, implementing energy efficiency measures encounters widespread and systemic barriers. A variety of market failures are keeping project developers from accessing commercial financing for energy efficiency investments.
... See More + Energy efficiency credit lines are created when international donors loan funds to financial institutions, which then lend to project developers. Credit lines offer a solution where domestic banks are strong but not lending to energy efficiency projects. These lines of credit offer access to finance in the near term, while paving the way for commercial financing in the medium to long term, particularly in the industrial sector. The World Bank's portfolio reveals that under the right conditions, credit lines can achieve dramatic results.
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Bulgaria faces the challenge of reducing its high energy and carbon intensity levels to comply with European Union (EU) reduction targets. It is the most energy-intensive economy in the EU, with 610 kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per €1,000 of gross domestic product (GDP) – about 4.3 times higher than the EU as a whole.
... See More + Its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity (0.36 kg of CO2 per unit of GDP PPP) is twice the EU average (0.18) due to a highly carbon-intensive energy mix: coal accounts for about 38 percent of total primary energy supply. To address these challenges, the government of Bulgaria has made energy efficiency (EE) a cornerstone of its energy policy. In line with the EU’s climate and energy package (“20/20/20 by 2020”),Bulgaria’s third National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) 2014-2020 set two specific targets for 2020: (a) increasing energy savings by 25 percent – i.e., 1.6 million metric tons of energy equivalent (Mtoe) in primary energy savings – and (b) reducing energy intensity by 41 percent compared to 2005 levels.In February 2015, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works launched the National Program for Energy Efficiency of Multifamily Buildings to support the rehabilitation of MABs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures and structural renovations. The Program’s objectives were to (a) improve the energy efficiency of multifamily residential buildings and reduce energy expenditures, (b) extend the lifetime of buildings, and (c) contribute to a reduction in local and global air pollution. The initial budget of the Program in 2015 was BGN 1 billion (€500 million), and in 2017 it had expanded with an additional BGN 1 billion. The Program offered 100 percent grant support to registered HOAs in Bulgaria that were built prior to 1990. The Program was open to all older buildings – first only prefabricated panel buildings were included but the Program was expanded in 2016 to include brick and monolithic concrete built before 1999 – with instructions to municipalities to prioritize the most dilapidated ones. Under the framework developed by MRDPW, the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) acted as a paying agent and accepted applications from HOAs through the municipalities. The Program has achieved substantial results in demonstrating the benefits of housing renovations for energy efficiency and in improving the enabling environment for the implementation of energy efficiency investments in Bulgaria’s residential sector (e.g., conducting energy audits, preparing technical designs, building capacity in the construction sector, monitoring energy savings, issuing residential building certificates).With the completion of the initial phase of the Program, the government is now ready to develop a longer-term vision for the renovation of the full building stock and the design of the second phase which would seek to develop more sustainable and scalable financing mechanisms and build on the lessons learned from Phase 1.Section second includes a brief summary of the results from the first phase along with lessons learned. Section third outlines a longer-term strategic approach to supporting the renovation of the remaining residential building stock in Bulgaria and proposes a detailed program plan for the second phase. The outline was developed to help the government communicate its plans to renovate the full building stock over the next 20-30 years while managing expectations about future levels of government support. Sections fourth and fifth then analyze and recommend specific design options for the second phase of the Program which seek to introduce some level of HOA co-financing and address some of the implementation challenges and lessons noted in the first phase.
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