The EBRD is supporting energy efficiency improvements in the public sector in Romania with an investment to expand energy saving initiatives across Romanian municipalities.
The €10 million corporate loan to EnergoBit ESCO, a subsidiary of EnergoBit Group SA, will be used to finance energy efficiency projects mainly in the Romanian municipal sector.
The projects will range from conducting energy saving studies and engineering assessments to installing energy efficient public lighting, introducing combined heat and power generation as well as implementing small scale co-generation projects for industrial clients.
This new investment is part of the EBRD’s strategy aimed at helping Romania bring its energy efficiency in line with EU standards. Through the EBRD’s loan Romanian municipalities and private companies will have access to the resources and skills needed to benefit from energy saving initiatives, at a time when local funding remains scarce.
“There is a growing demand for ESCO services in Romania. With this loan to EnergoBit ESCO we are supporting Romania in its aim to achieve a 20 per cent energy saving target by 2020 and ESCOs clearly have an important role to play in achieving this objective,” said Claudia Pendred, EBRD Director for Romania.
ESCOs are used world-wide to offer a broad range of services including design, financing and procurement for energy saving projects. Usually all the energy saving measures are provided at no cost to the company’s client, while the ESCO recovers its investments based on the energy and cost savings achieved.
Cluj-based EnergoBit Group is one of the largest electrical engineering companies in Romania, which operates 17 companies with over 800 employees across the country. It has played a major role in upgrading Romania’s energy infrastructure over the last 20 years. Recently EnergoBit has been involved in renewable energy projects with private investors and energy efficiency activities by working primarily with the Romanian municipal sector.
“We consider this contract a major achievement for EnergoBit Group, which will allow us to expand our energy efficiency activities. Based on this EBRD loan, and adding our own €2.5 million capital contribution, today we can offer solutions for those clients, who although having a large energy saving potential, could not implement the projects due to the lack of financing resources. The involment of EBRD in financing such ESCO projects is also a clear message about the importance of energy saving measures, in fact the cleanest resource of energy”, said Pal Peter, Vice President of EnergoBit Group.
Since the beginning of its operations in Romania, the EBRD has committed over €5 billion to various sectors of the country’s economy, and last year 90 per cent of its investments went to the private sector.
