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EBRD, PostBank promote energy efficiency in Bulgaria
€15 million loan to help local industries reduce energy consumption and emission levels
The EBRD is lending Bulgaria’s PostBank, €15 million to help local industries
to become more energy efficient. The loan builds on €5 million provided to the
fast-growing PostBank in 2004 which has helped a number of private industrial
businesses cut energy waste significantly or produce energy more efficiently.
The loans are provided under the Industrial Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Framework, set up in 2004 by the EBRD together with the Kozloduy
International Decommissioning Support Fund and the Ministry of Economy and
Energy through the Energy Efficiency Agency. The framework originally
comprised €50 million of EBRD financing onlent to six participating banks, and
was extended in 2006 with the EBRD making available a further €55 million. The
financing is complemented by €20 million in grant funding from the KIDSF, set
up in 2000 and administered by the EBRD.
James Hyslop, EBRD Director for Bulgaria, said this loan is building on the
success of the first issued to PostBank, which has helped promote the
efficient use of energy, helping to cut pollution levels through reduced
carbon emissions. Furthermore, by cutting energy wastage, businesses are
saving costs, contributing to improved competitiveness, which is crucial as
Bulgaria prepares to join the European Union, he added.
Assen Yagodin, Postbank’s Executive Director, said lending of this kind is
very important for private industrial businesses in improving their energy
efficiency. The loan will also stimulate the investment in alternative powers
using renewable energy, such as water supply plants and air energy generators,
said Mr Yagodin. In providing opportunities for innovation, Postbank will help
Bulgarian businesses to be competitive within the EU and at the same time will
enable them to operate on a more environmentally friendly basis, he added.
Under the framework, participating banks such as Postbank receive funds from
the EBRD that they on-lend to private-sector industrial enterprises.
Businesses use the finance to improve energy efficiency by, for example,
introducing better energy consumption, automation, control and heat recovery
systems, and promote the use of renewable energy technologies.
Successfully completed renewable energy projects receive grant funding of 20
per cent of the loan extended by the participating banks, and companies with
successfully completed energy efficiency projects receive 7.5 per cent of such
loans from the KIDSF, financed by donors, including the European Community,
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The EBRD is the largest investor in Bulgaria with more than €1.3 billion
committed to projects across the country. Working with its many partners, the
Bank has mobilised more than €5.4 billion for projects in Bulgaria.
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