The Energy Efficiency Fund has begun its work in Ukraine, and it will be a new and effective tool for implementing state energy modernization projects at the level of households and at the level of legal entities, according to the media liaisons department of the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
It is expected that the fund will provide funds for implementing thermal modernization projects, introducing effective monitoring and control systems, establishing effective heating and cooling systems and equipment, as well as replacing existing systems and equipment with more efficient ones. The form of providing funds will be a partial refund of the cost of measures on energy efficiency to individuals and legal entities.
“We allocate a total of UAH 2 billion [for energy efficiency programs], including UAH 400 million for ‘warm loans’ and UAH 1.6 billion for large-scale energy modernization projects,” Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said.
According to him, in addition to budgetary allocations, funds are also to be received “from our European partners.”
“There is a decision to allocate 100 million euros – this is about UAH 3 billion. This tranche will be divided into several periods,” Groysman said.
He stated that all energy modernization projects would be implemented simultaneously with programs for the introduction of efficient consumption of resources, as well as a significant increase in the production of domestic natural gas.
According to government forecasts, over 3-5 years of the work of the Energy Efficiency Fund, annual gas saving due to efficient fuel use will reach at least 1.5 billion cubic meters and, at the same time, the launch of new production facilities based on the latest technologies will create an additional 75,000 new jobs.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on the Energy Efficiency Fund on June 8, 2017. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the document on July 20. On December 20, the Cabinet of Ministers created the state-owned enterprise Energy Efficiency Fund.
