E5P holds discussions of the benefits of Energy Efficiency Investments in Georgian municipalities
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Monday, March 16
The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership (E5P), an international multi-donor fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), organized a seminar to discuss the implementation and funding of energy efficiency projects in Georgia.
Among the participants were representatives from the Georgian state authorities, municipal companies, international financing institutions active in the E5P, ambassadors and honorary representatives from donor countries, and the European Union.
Georgia has recently joined the E5P, which is a multi-donor international fund set up to promote energy saving investments in the Eastern Partnership countries. E5P supports projects in the municipal sector by providing grant co-financing alongside loans from the participating International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the EBRD, European Investment Bank (EIB), Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO), Nordic Investment Bank (NiB), the World Bank and so on.
The fund has resources of close to 170 million Euros with20 million Euros allocated as grant financing for Georgia. Overall, the European Union is the largest Contributor to the E5P with pledged funds of 70 million Euros. Contributors to the Georgian window of E5P include: the EU, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the US.
The objective of the seminar was to learn about investment needs of Georgian municipal companies and find ways to match these with the grant and loan co-financing mechanism offered by E5P.
According to E5P, compared to the EU average, the energy intensity of Georgia is about 2.5 times higher. Georgia has vast resources of almost all types of renewable energy and an untapped potential to save energy in its buildings. Also waste management and public transport can benefit from E5P grant funds.
According to Fund Manager at Å5Ð Anders Lund, the seminar provided the opportunity to understand energy efficiency problems of the municipalities in Georgia and find solutions to them in a group of key players in the sector.
Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance of GeorgiaDavid Lezhava, stated that it is an excellent opportunity for Georgia to finance environmentally friendly investments.
”We are just starting, and are hopeful that E5P resources will increase as we move forward. Joining E5P instantaneously boosted demand for such projects. Demand is so high from Georgian municipalities, and there are so many project proposals from the donors and IFIs, that we will have to select only the very best,” Lezhava stated.
