Lviv is a city of oblast subordination in Ukraine, and the administrative center of Lviv Oblast. The area of Lviv is about 180 km2. As of 2010, the population of the city was over 760,000 residents.

The city actively cooperates with international technical assistance projects in a variety of sectors, including projects aimed at improving municipal infrastructure. Among its partner organizations are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, European Investment Bank (EIB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Northern Environmental Financial Corporation (NEFCO) and others.

In April 2007, the Lviv City Council established the Energy Management Unit, which includes the energy saving and energy oversight sectors. On 12 January 2009, Lviv joined the European initiative “Covenant of Mayors”, whose signatories commit to reducing their CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020 and thus contributing to the development of an environmentally oriented economy and improving the quality of life.

In 2011, the city became a participant of the USAID Municipal Heating Reform Project in Ukraine. The Lviv Sustainable Energy Development Program through 2020 (SEDP) was developed under this Project. This document is a component of the strategic plan of the city in energy efficiency and energy conservation. Lviv was one of Ukraine’s first cities to develop and approve such a document. It was approved by Lviv City Council Resolution # 633 of 14 July 2011.

The Lviv SDEP identified the following goals:

  • reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020 (with an annual reduction of about 2%) and by 51.3% by 2030;
  • reduce natural gas consumption by 30% by 2030 through conservation and substitution with alternative fuels; and
  • reduce СО2 emissions by 20% by 2020, etc.

It should be noted that the SDEP developers focused precisely on the extensive thermal modernization of public buildings and residential buildings, and also on setting strict requirements for the maximum annual heat consumption of newly constructed buildings on the level of 45 kWh/m2.

In 2014, after signing the relevant Memorandum, cooperation between the city and the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (hereinafter – the USAID Project) started.  

Infrastructure Projects in Various  Sectors of Lviv

HEAT SUPPLY

As a result of cooperation of the City Council with EBRD and Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (Е5Р), thecommunal utility Lvivteploenergo will receive funds for implementing the “Modernization of District Heating in Lviv” project. The total amount of funding is €30 million,of which €10 million is non-repayable grant, and € 20 million in the form of a low interest loan.

The funds received will enable the municipality to resolve a number of old problems related to low energy efficiency at the heating utilities and the quality of services. The project calls for the installation of two cogeneration units at CHP-2 for combined generation of heat energy and electricity, the reconstruction and modernization of the heating networks, the replacement of outdated mains and installation of the required control systems, as well as installation of over 400 individual heat substations (IHS) in multi-apartment buildings in Syhivskyi district. It is expected that after completion of the project, almost half of Lviv residents (about 370,000 persons) will have higher quality and environmentally cleaner heating and hot water supply, and the estimated amount of resources saved will be 6,900 th. m3 of natural gas, 2,900 MWh of electricity and 15,900 m3 of water per annum. Due to more the efficient use of fuel, CO2 emissions will also fall by almost 80,000 t per annum.

EBRD representatives stressed many times that the city of Lviv sets an example in the development of project documentation and the filing of financial reporting. 

WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE

In October 2016, the documents were signed for implementing a project on modernizing the city’s sewage purification facilities and constructing biogas generation units.The total cost of the project is €31.5 million, including a €15 million EBRD loan, NEFCO loan of €5 million, E5P grant funds of €7.5 million, and a local budget contribution of €4 million.

The main tasks of the project are the improvement of the sewage purification in the city, reduction of Poltva River pollution and improved energy efficiency at the Lvivvodokanal communal utility.The pilot project provides for the reconstruction of the municipal purification facilities and construction of a biogas station: biogas will be produced from the effluent sludge which is formed after effluent purification, with its further incineration for obtaining heat energy and electricity. The energy generated will be used for the own needs of the purification facilities. It is expected that as a result of project implementation it will be possible to generate 39,400 MWh/year of electricity and heat energy.

The city also received this year a € 380,000 grant from John Nurminen Foundationfor implementing the project “Attraction of international technical assistance for neutralizing effluent from a biogas unit and measures to extract phosphorus coming from the biogas unit”. The grant is given for the procurement of equipment, including: system of chemical sedimentation, effluent meter and phosphorus content flow analyzer for effluent. CU Lvivvodokanal is financing all expenses for the construction works, design development, assembly and commissioning of the phosphorus extraction system, as well as expenses for the operation of the chemical agent dispensing system.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The city is finishing a massive infrastructure project – construction of a tram track to Syhiv. EBRD lent €6 million to the city in 2013 for this project, and the German Ministry of Environment gave a €5 million investment grant. The money was used to develop the city tram network. In 2015, the city received the second tranche for this project – €6 million for the replacement of an automatic sewage flow tank at Uhorska Street – Chervonoi Kalyny Avenue – Stusa Street, repair works on the Khutorivskyi Bridge and the construction of an interchange ramp at Khutorivka crossover. The design length of the tram track is 11.5 km both ways; the project is 95% complete.

In addition, with co-financing from EBRD, central and local budgets, the city is replacing old trams. On 31 October 2016, communal utility “Lvivelectrotrans” received six new tramsElectron T3L441, the seventh will be delivered in the very near future. The contract for supply of trams was signed as a result of a two-phase international tender conducted according to the EBRD Procurement Rules. Total contract amount – €6.9 million.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

The municipality has plans to conduct a thermal modernization of two public buildings in Lviv on a public-private partnership basis (PPP). The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project (USAID Project) has developed the relevant feasibility studies and presented documents to the City Council.

Both buildings have a natural gas local stove heating system, the operation of which in a facility for children is strictly prohibited by the technical requirements and rules: thus, 65 children in the kindergarten and 320 students in the lyceum find themselves in hazardous conditions during the cold season.

The project for kindergarten # 14 provides for the installation of a piping system with heaters that in cold season will operate as heaters, and in the warm season as air conditioners; thermal modernization of the building envelope and floors of the building, which will reduce natural gas consumption for heating by 46%. It is also planned to install an “air – water” heat pump and will fully cover 75% of total annual heat consumption for the needs of heating. The project includes installing equipment for the reserve energy source (for use in the periods of peak load): modular gas-fired heat generator with two high-efficiency condensation gas boilers which, if needed, will fully satisfy the energy need of the building for heating. Amount of required investments is UAH 704,400. Natural gas consumption as a result of project implementation is expected to reach 8,855 m3/year, and the annual savings on communal bills – UAH 42,000.

A feasibility study for the Lviv Technology Lyceum building includes the thermal modernization of the building envelope and window replacement with PVC windows with five-chamber profile and double-pane glass unit, and heat insulation of the roof. The project envisages installing a piping system with heating units and equipment for the reserve energy source (for use in the periods of peak load) install a heat generation system (“air – water” heat pump) next to the boiler house building. The heat pump will cover the heating system load when the outdoor air temperature is between -1 °С and +8 °С. When temperatures are close to -1 °С, the heat pump will work in tandem with the gas boiler. When the temperature is between -1 °С and-15 °С, only the gas boiler will operate (in the condensation mode). In the summer, the pump can be used to cool the lyceum, and this will allow for significant savings on the cooling equipment. The amount of required investment for project implementation is almost UAH 3.3 million. Natural gas consumption as a result of project implementation is expected to fall by50,466 m3/year, and annual reduction of total operational expenses should fall by  UAH 284,400.

For future projects in Lviv, the most acceptable form is concessional PPP. This will bring private partners in through conclusion of the long-term concession contract between this partner and the Lviv City Council. According to this contract, the City Council invests in the energy efficiency improvements, guarantees support for the measures and investments of the private partner through purchase of heat energy from the private partner at the tariff attractive for both parties. Private partners will be selected via open tender.

After the presentation of the projects on October 6 in Lviv, the City Council confirmed its commitment to finance the projects in the amounts identified by the financing scheme, and undertook the responsibility to conduct a state expert assessment of the feasibility study. The projects will be presented to the Commission on Engineering, Transport, Communication and Housing Policy of the Lviv City Council, and the USAID Project will provide assistance in finding investors.

 

USAID Project Information Campaign in Lviv

The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project conducts a wide-ranging information campaign, including an information campaign in Lviv, because teaching Ukrainians to be responsible consumers of energy resources is a very important task. The information campaign measures can give a significant effect with relatively low expenses. As a result, everyone can feel responsible for the heat and comfort in their apartments, for managing their own housing, etc.

The outdoor social advertising from the USAID Project, "Insulate Correctly!", has been placed in Lviv on 40 billboards and 16 city-lights. Lviv has taken part in the European Sustainable Energy Week for several years. In 2016, the USAID Project team helped conduct America Days in Lviv, where it informed the local community about energy efficiency, energy conservation and social safety nets for population.

In spring 2016, five secondary schools of the city participated in the competition on electricity saving conducted within the framework of the USAID Project. Lviv secondary school # 99 became one of the winners.

 

Condominium Resource Centers Support

The Condominium Unit, Condominium Resource Center of the Lviv City Council supports the activities of condominiums in Lviv. 1,240 initiative groups have contacted the Resource Center in 2015 - September 2016 seeking assistance in establishment of the condominiums. The Center conducted 98 information meetings on condominium establishment with the co-owners of multi-apartment buildings in different districts of the city. 349 new condominiums appeared in Lviv in the first three quarters of 2016. There are a total of 961 condominiums operating in Lviv as of 30 September 2016.

The Center developed amendments to the Warm House municipal Program of Compensation of Part of Loan Funds for Condominiums and Housing Cooperatives. As a result of these changes, the maximum amount of compensation per loan was increased from UAH 100,000 to UAH 400,000.

 

USAID Project Assistance in Energy Management System Improvement

The energy management system for buildings was introduced in Lviv before the signing of the Covenant of Mayors. In 2015, the daily collection of data on energy resource consumption was organized with the help of uMuni software. It was done in all public buildings and allowed the city to save UAH 32.3 million in 2015 on energy resources in public buildings. As of September 2015, the energy monitoring system covered 370 public buildings in the city.

The USAID Project provides comprehensive methodological and advisory assistance to the city to make the energy management system compliant with the requirements of the ISO50001 standard.