| The Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine (Minregion) has publicized on July 25 the Preliminary List of Projects of Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Development Program which passed the screening phase and were recommended for further consideration. Among them – five projects prepared by the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project). Our partner cities (Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Ternopil, and Zaporizhzhia) presented for Minregion’s consideration the projects on thermal modernization of public buildings, total amount of financing is over Euro 67 million. In the following selection phases, the projects must undergo assessment of financial situation of the end beneficiaries and receive positive conclusion of the Coordination Committee, and of the European Investment Bank. |
| USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) and UKRGASBANK signed a Memorandum of Understanding on July 19. Through joint efforts, the partners will promote implementation of the best practices of energy saving, transparency of the municipal energy reform process in Ukraine, and will help the cities attract investments in the energy efficiency and alternative energy projects. Andrii Nesterenko, USAID Senior Energy and Climate Change Specialist, expressed confidence that UKRGASBANK will be a reliable partner in attracting investment in the clean energy projects. "We already have joint experience in implementing successful energy efficiency residential sector projects through the "warm loans" program which we support since 2015. Now, time is right to make our efforts somewhat larger, both in terms of project size and scope. For example: heat supply, water supply, waste management and ecology," – said Mr. Nesterenko. Read more>> |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) has prepared the fourth edition of the "New Investment Opportunities" information digest. The increase of government support and interest of investors for channeling funds to increase energy efficiency in the housing and communal services sector has opened for the cities new and previously unavailable opportunities to participate in pilot and demonstration projects for receiving concession loans and grant funds, as well as financing energy efficiency measures through public-private partnerships. This time, we are presenting the most illustrative investment projects in energy efficiency, implemented or planned for implementation, in the USAID Project partner cities in the northern and central regions of Ukraine – Vinnytsia, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Kyiv, Sumy and Khmelnytskyi. Read more>> |
| An official ceremony of submitting reports on energy audits of the schools-winners of the contest on reduction of power consumption conducted by the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine among 78 schools from 16 partner cities (five from each city) took place in Kyiv on April 26. In the course of competition, the students together with the teachers were able to save over 41 th. kWh of electricity, which is UAH 78,901 in cash equivalent. The highest success was achieved by the schools from Kamianets-Podilskyi (33.5%) and Khmelnytskyi (20.5%). Read more>> |
| The team of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine started on June 13 a series of new two-day seminars for journalists, called “Key Information on Energy Efficiency in Media.” The first event included 24 journalists from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi oblasts. On the first day, the journalists learned about the variety of modern energy efficient technologies, the specifics of the construction of energy efficient and passive buildings, the correct use of the key terminology in housing and communal services, and also dispelled myths on the establishment and functioning of homeowners association. Read more>> |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine supports energy efficiency in its partner cities and the implementation of comprehensive solutions allowing the municipalities to obtain the necessary financial resources, reduce their energy consumption and save the funds of the communities. Special attention should be given to the programs not only providing the required support to the populace, condominiums, and housing and construction cooperatives, but which also can be interesting and effective for the communal utilities. Ukrgazbank recently started a long-term lending program which enables Ukrainian communal utilities to obtain funds for the reconstruction, renovation, or capital overhaul of real estate, the purchase of real estate, equipment, vehicles and special mechanisms, construction works, or further construction. The period of such lending will correspond to the payback period of the investment projects, and may be up to 7 years. Read more>> |
| Ternopil approved in 2013 the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) developed with support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project (USAID Project). It envisages СО2 reduction by more than 22% through 2020. In cooperation with the USAID Project, the document was updated in 2016 and its implementation is in progress. Read more>> |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) conducted energy audits of 60 public buildings in Zaporizhzhia, including 53 educational establishments and 7 health protection institutions. The audits formed the basis of documents allowed the City Council to form an application for € 16.7mln in credit from the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the "Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Development Program" project (UMIDP). The city’s application received a positive assessment regarding the compliance of the projects with eligibility criteria, and is waiting to be included in the Preliminary List of UMIDP Projects as a result of the second phase of selection by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine. Read more>> |
| The city of Chernihiv is a good example for replication as it has not stopped developing and changing for the better even in the country’s difficult times. The local authorities put a lot of effort into resolving the problems accumulated over the years, and in making the city more energy efficient, neat and comfortable for living. The development of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for 2015-2023 in cooperation with the USAID Project and its adoption by the City Council has opened realistic opportunities for Chernihiv to attract investments for the implementation of energy efficiency projects and measures. A positive credit history, properly prepared applications to international financial institutions and clear business plans for each of the projects have all helped with attracting the attention of international financial institutions to Chernihiv. Read more>> |
| The final session of the "Energy Audit of Buildings" workshops was held in Kyiv on July 5-7, supported by the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project). 32 energy auditors and energy managers from 12 partner cities of the USAID Project participated in the training. During the workshops, the participants learned how to identify potential projects and studied the methodology of conducting energy audits and compiling the relevant reports. Together with leading European experts, they focused on consistency and handling the intricacies of performing the necessary calculations using the ENSI EAB software product. All the participants immediately applied their knowledge in practice – they conducted energy audits of the most typical building for their region (kindergarten, hospital, etc.). Read more>> |
| Izmail City Council deputies adopted the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan through 2030 (SECAP) on March 31. The SECAP was developed at a record pace of 3 months with the support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project). This plan includes 73 technical and 5 information projects for total amount of UAH 1,718.7 mln. Their implementation will allow the city to save up to 75 mln. м3 of natural gas and over 345,000 MWh of electricity. In addition, the amount of СО2 emission will be reduced by 34% by 2030 (80,800 t/year), and this will have a positive impact on the development of an environmentally oriented economy and will improvement the quality of life for the city residents. . Read more>> |
| The USAID Project continues to educate journalists from its partner cities on the issues of energy efficiency, energy conservation, functioning of the Homeowners Associations (HOA) and use of the alternative energy sources. Two-day trainings "Key Information on Energy Efficiency in Media" took place in Lviv (July 6-7) and in Dnipro (July 11-12). 37 journalists from Dnipro, Donetsk, Lviv, Rivne, and Volyn oblasts took part in the trainings. Together with the Project experts, they not only studied the modern energy efficient technologies, materials and alternative energy sources to be selected for modernization of buildings. They also discussed the latest technologies for providing information on various media platforms, use of correct terminology in the articles and videos, and busted the most common myths about establishment and operation of HOAs. Read more>> |
| The team of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) participated in the industrial fair and forum "Independent Heat & Power Engineering 2017" held in Kyiv on April 11-12 with support of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE). Official opening ceremony of the event gathered in total over 4,000 guests and participants. Read more>> |
| Ten partner cities of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine will receive funding for transport infrastructure development. This financing became possible after President Poroshenko signed the Law of Ukraine "On Ratification of the Financial Agreement between Ukraine and European Investment Bank" (Project "Municipal Public Transport of Ukraine"). The objective of the agreement is to allow municipalities to take out, against state guarantees, up to € 200 mln in credit from the European Investment Bank for spending on improvements to municipal public transportation. Read more>> |
| Kharkiv signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine on 23 March 2017. Under this memorandum, the Project will help the city in developing an effective energy management system. In addition, energy audits of the communal systems and public buildings will be conducted in Kharkiv for the development of the Greenhouse Emission Cadaster and Catalogue of Investment Projects in Energy Efficiency, with their further incorporation into the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan of Kharkiv. Read more>> |
| In March 2017, Kramatorsk started work on the Public Transport Efficiency Project which is implemented within the framework of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine. The objective of the project is to develop recommendations for improving transport infrastructure, and to improve the efficiency of municipal transport operations. Read more>> |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) started the "Basic Energy Management Training" workshop in Kharkiv on March 27. Participants in this five-day event included 29 representatives of municipal, district and oblast administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The main objective of the training is to help the new USAID Project partner cities in implementing municipal energy management systems and in improving their institutional capacity to develop sustainable energy infrastructures. During the training, the trainees will learn about the state and municipal programs supporting energy conservation, explore the mechanisms for raising financing for energy efficiency projects in the public sector, and learn about the key aspects of implementing a municipal energy management system and energy audits. |