It was the first project call for the RS for Russia and FSU, and the largest funding round in REEEP’s three year history. 

Financing Municipal Energy Efficiency in the CIS

Despite the potential for cost-effective energy savings, investment in energy efficiency has been slow in the Commonwealth of Independent States due to policy barriers, lack of awareness, and weak economic incentives. As local governments slowly gain autonomy and become more accountable for utility services, there is a growing demand for information on the methods and replicable practices for improving municipal services with limited budgets.

The Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) is a long-standing institution promoting energy efficiency at the regional level in Central & Eastern Europe and the CIS.  Cities across the region who are aware of the need for increased energy efficiency do not always have the capacity, resources or incentives to address municipal energy and water needs. This project will address these deficiencies by identifying, presenting and discussing best practices in financing improvements in municipal services in Armenia, Ukraine and Russia.

There is an increased desire within local governments and financial institutions to properly develop and structure financing for projects that improve energy efficiency in heating, public lighting, water supply and wastewater treatment. As a result of the project, the ability for municipalities to better meet basic needs for heat and water strengthens a municipality’s standing with the populace and raises expectations among the citizenry for a responsive government, helping lay the foundation for transparent and democratic governance The project has co-funding from USAID and the Eurasia Bureau and it will be managed by the Alliance to Save Energy. REEEP has provided funding to the MUNEE programme in previous project funding rounds.

Efficiency Building Codes for Russia and Kazakhstan

In 1994, Moscow adopted a building code to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.  In the years since, 49 of Russia’s 89 regions have followed Moscow’s lead to reduce the heating requirements of buildings. In 2003, The Russian Federation passed legislation on energy efficiency, similar legislation was adopted by Kazakhstan in 2004.The new building codes have transformed markets and resulted in major manufacturing changes within wall panel, insulation and window factories. In the next five years, Russia alone will build approximately 250 million square metres of new residential buildings.  All new residential and commercial buildings are subject to Russia’s new codes.  Anecdotal observations indicate that compliance is surprisingly high.

This project will improve compliance with new building codes and provide training and resources to enable designers and architects to go beyond compliance.  It will also target building officials, providing them skills for improved implementation and enforcement of codes, as well as lay the groundwork for further code improvements. The project will accelerate the pace of CO2 emission reductions and save Russian and Kazakh consumers millions of Euros.  Compliance manuals will also be produced and successful financial incentives utilised by Moscow will be replicated elsewhere.  The project has co-funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Research Institute for Building Physics and the Natural Resource Defense Council and it will be managed by the Institute for Market Transformation.

Compiling Renewable Energy Legislation for Kazakhstan

This project will build on the current work of the GEF-funded Kazakhstan Wind Power Market Development Initiative that has compiled a framework for future regulation and legislation for wind power in Kazakhstan.

The GEF-funded wind framework will be used to develop detailed regulation drafts, extended to cover all relevant renewables, including price predictions for adoption by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The drafts will include a proposed and fully costed national RES development programme.

The project team will work with the Ministry of Energy and other state agencies to develop detailed draft legislation in a form appropriate for inclusion in Governmental and Parliamentary sessions.  The draft legislation will allow for an informed political debate on sustainable energy and it will establish the foundation for renewables to become part of the energy mix.

The project has co-funding from the UNDP and it will be managed by UNDP Kazakhstan.

Utilisation of Forest Biomass for Fossil-fuel Substitution in the Volga Region

In the remote villages of the Volga river basin, fossil fuels for heating are transported by road, servicing a regional population of between 5-7 million people.  The region has incomes significantly lower than the national average and the cost of fossil fuels for heating is a drain to municipal and residential budgets.  Converting district heating systems to forest biomass would reduce the consumption of fossil fuels within the region by 20-30 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually with a subsequent reduction of heating costs by as much as 50%.

This project will evaluate the potential for the establishment of a biomass industry for district heating in the Volga river region.  It will review supply issues, forest restoration activities, assessment criteria, and village heating utilization in order to build the case for obtaining support from the State Duma and from districts within the Volga river basin for substituting fossil fuels with forest biomass. The project team includes representatives of the Volga regions, members of the Committee on the Ecology of the State Duma, and leading experts in biomass.  The project has co-funding from the Varnavinsk District Administration, UNEP Moscow and MATRA/KAP programme, and it will be managed by the Environmental Projects Consulting Institute.