Energy independence of public buildings with international grants: how to get involved
5 March 08:49
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the procedure for using grant funds to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings. This was reported by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The program provides funding for the modernization of municipal healthcare facilities at the expense of the European Investment Bank and international grants from the EU Neighborhood Investment Platform (NIP) and the E5P multilateral donor fund.
Local governments that are already participants in the Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings loan program can receive funding. The grant funds will be allocated as co-financing for the loan project, which will reduce the debt burden of communities. Co-financing from grant funds is up to 50%, but not more than 300 thousand euros per institution. Projects will be selected by the Ministry of Development, which also monitors their implementation.
How to apply and receive funds
The announcement of the selection of subprojects will be published on the website of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development.
Local governments participating in the Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings program must submit applications in paper or electronic form. Applications in electronic format must be signed with a qualified electronic signature.
Applications will be reviewed by the project management team at the Ministry within 15 working days.
If the information in the application meets the requirements, the institution will be included in the list of subprojects receiving co-financing.
The final approval will be made by the European Investment Bank, after which the Ministry will issue an order approving the subprojects.
Funds will be transferred to the Ministry’s account opened with Ukreximbank.
A separate project account is opened for each beneficiary, to which funds are transferred.
Payments must be made by the beneficiary directly to the contractors performing the work in national currency or the equivalent in hryvnia at the NBU exchange rate.
Beneficiaries must report on the use of funds on a monthly basis, and the Ministry of Development will monitor the effectiveness of project implementation.
Applications will be available from mid-March. Detailed information will be published on the Ministry of Development’s website before the start of the application process.
The program is expected to help reduce energy costs, create more comfortable conditions in hospitals, and improve the efficiency of utility management.
What is known about the Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings project?
The total budget of this project is EUR 100 million, of which EUR 7 million will be provided as a grant for the reconstruction of medical facilities.
Support is provided by the European Investment Bank. The project envisages the modernization of schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and other public facilities that need to improve energy consumption.
Another Ray of Hope for Ukrainian hospitals
Ukraine has already received 5876 solar panels from the Italian company Enel S.p.A. with a total capacity of about 2 MW. This is part of the Ray of Hope project.
The project is currently being actively implemented in 20 medical institutions in five regions of Ukraine. Solar power plants are already operating in Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv regions. Future plans include scaling the project to more than 300 medical facilities across Ukraine. The Ray of Hope project is being implemented with the help of the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine, established in the spring of 2022.
