The National Decarbonisation Fund will also help citizens invest in renovating their homes
A national conference in Burgas is discussing funding opportunities, and the exhibition at the Flora complex is advising house managers and construction professionals on how to get involved
Raya Lecheva
The National Decarbonisation Fund will help citizens to invest in the renovation of buildings, it became clear at the conference "Sustainable financing of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects", which is being held in Burgas. Currently, a consultant is developing the structure of the fund, so that all opportunities for attracting private investment can be provided, and citizens can be encouraged to co-finance the renovation of their homes. This was explained by Nikolay Nalbantov, Director of the Strategic Policies for Sustainable Energy Development Directorate for the Implementation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Policies at the Ministry of Energy.
The National Decarbonisation Fund will start working once we meet the objectives of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. But in fact, starting work on it is a reason to receive funds from the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability and that is why it is so important for business and citizens.
Currently, the Flag Fund, the Agency for Sustainable Energy Development, the National Trust Ecofund, the Energy Efficiency Fund are financing energy efficiency projects.
On June 2nd and 3rd at the Flora Complex in Burgas, representatives of international and Bulgarian financial institutions and energy professionals discuss the latest trends in sustainable energy and prospects for rehabilitation of the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability. The main topic of the program is the establishment of the National Decarbonisation Fund (NDF) and is one of the most important reforms in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. He is expected to invest in all areas of sustainable energy development - from the renovation of buildings and the installation of renewable energy systems to business support.
The event presented for the first time in Bulgaria the initial stages of the work on structuring the fund. The latest amendments to the Renewable Energy Act are a step forward and address the administrative delay for business projects, but a number of open issues remain. The RES directive has not yet been synchronized, but energy communities are yet to be formed, Nalbantov said. According to him, the first development of energy communities in multifamily buildings will be tested. It is important that they are not primarily for corporate purposes, we want to stimulate active consumers to produce energy for their own needs and more individual participants.
The Municipality of Burgas is creating a single energy office for energy efficiency projects
The participants paid special attention to the rapid development of the regulatory framework and the launch of funding programs to unlock market opportunities in a number of areas such as building rehabilitation, renewable energy installations and energy cooperatives. According to Eng. Chanka Koralska, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Burgas, the municipalities are the engines for achieving the goals of carbon neutrality. These goals cannot be achieved without the active participation of citizens. The municipality is a leader in the energy efficiency program and plans to create a single energy office, which will be a link between business, financial institutions and citizens, and I hope it will be a fact soon, she said. But she said the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan was delaying announcing specific procedures because people were unaware that the survey and technical passports would be eligible costs. And the interest is extremely high and the municipalities are flooded daily with requests for renovation of buildings, she said.
The second phase of the work - "Preparation of an investment strategy for NDF" - is also nearing completion and is expected to be presented in the coming weeks. The fund must be ready in the second half of the year to receive the funds from the National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability. This was announced by Olivier Dumolin from the European Investment Bank, a consultant on structuring the fund in Bulgaria.
The head of the team working on the structuring of the NDF - Marko Markov, said: "The work on the structuring of the Fund involves representatives of all stakeholders. The government directly monitors activities, but we consult industry and professional organizations, energy experts, financial institutions. The conclusion is that the way is to combine public and private funding, not only because the goals are high, but because citizens and businesses expect opportunities to invest in green energy.