10.01.2011 | News
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), together with NEFCO and Ukrainian authorities have jointly agreed to set up an investment programme aimed at promoting energy efficiency projects in Ukraine.
Environment, including energy efficiency, is one of two key areas and priorities for the Swedish development cooperation with Ukraine.
The programme, which is called DemoUkraina, will receive SEK 35 million from the Swedish government via Sida, which will be used to finance local district heating projects. NEFCO, for its part, will administer the programme and, among other things, ensure cost and energy consumption efficiency by consulting and sourcing professional district heating expertise.
According to the terms of the agreement, ten municipal district heating projects will be financed with grants from Sida and loans from NEFCO. The maximum loan and grant size for each project will be EUR 400,000 and EUR 300,000, respectively. The municipal projects to be financed by the new investment programme, as all loans to municipalities in Ukraine, have to be approved by the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance.
The agreement also identifies ways to improve the exchange of information about energy efficiency issues between Swedish and Ukrainian municipalities.
Ukraine has a huge potential to save energy and the government has estimated that some 50 per cent of the energy consumed in the country could be saved by investing in energy efficiency technologies in the industrial and municipal sectors. The International Energy Agency (IEA) maintains that energy efficiency represents Ukraine’s best opportunity to improve its energy security.
Since 2003, NEFCO has financed environmental projects in Ukraine and currently has 85 on-going projects in the country.
Learn more about Sida
Learn more about energy efficiency in Ukraine
Study the statistics of Ukrainian energy consumption
Read more about NEFCO-financed energy efficiency projects