site.btaMinistry Signs Energy Efficiency Contracts with 32 Municipalities

Ministry Signs Energy Efficiency Contracts with 32 Municipalities

Sofia, August 19 (BTA) - The Energy Ministry said on Tuesday it has signed 10.44 million euro worth of contracts with 32 municipalities to improve energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energy for heating in municipal and state buildings.

The projects will be financed through the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programme, also known as "the Norwegian programme."

The funding will be used to replace fuel systems and boilers, overhaul heating user stations and heating installations, and promote the use of solar, hydrothermal and geothermal energy for heating. The beneficiaries are institutions of central and local government and they will use grants of between 170,000 and 500,000 euro. The deadline for the implementation of the projects will be extended by a year until April 2017.

Beneficiaries in Sofia will repair the heating systems of two kindergartens and a home for the elderly and will gasify another kindergarten, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova said. According to Veliko Turnovo Mayor Daniel Panov, the measures will reduce energy costs by about 40 per cent.