site.btaBulgaria to Receive LV 33 Mln for New Programme for Energy Efficiency, Security

119 - ECONOMY - RENEWABLE ENERGY - PROGRAMME - START

Bulgaria to Receive LV 33 Mln for
New Programme for Energy
Efficiency, Security


Sofia, May 22 (BTA) - Bulgaria will receive a total of 33 million euro, including 28 million in grants, under a new programme for renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy security. The programme was officially launched on Wednesday.

The Energy Ministry is programme operator. The programme is funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021.

The budget of the programme is double the one for the previous programme period.

The first call to proposals, which is to start, is for rehabilitation and modernization of municipal infrastructure. Demand for this procedure is highest. The budget is 8.2 million euro and 3.5 million is set aside for efficient use of hydroenergy resources. Beneficiaries in this procedure will be municipalities and water companies.

The programme has a budget of 3.4 million euro for projects for utilization of geothermal energy for heating and cooling.

A total of 10.7 million euro will be available for improving the energy efficiency and utilizing geothermal energy in industry.

The programme also has a budget for several small grant schemes including one for training on use of geothermal energy.

Grete Odegaard, EEA and Norway Grants Counsellor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, said that the programme seeks to help overcome economic and social disparities. The idea is to improve energy efficiency and strengthen the expert capacity in the energy sector. She said that from the Embassy's point of view it is important for the development of bilateral relations. IG/LN/
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