A seminar organized by the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership (E5P) on “Investment opportunities for Georgian municipalities within the framework of E5P” is taking place on March 13th 2015 in Tbilisi, Hotel Courtyard Marriott.
Georgia has recently joined the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P), which is a multi-donor international fund set up to promote energy saving investments in the Eastern Partnership countries. E5P supports projects in the municipal sector by providing grant co-financing alongside loans from the participating International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the EBRD, EIB, CEB, NEFCO, NiB, KfW and the World Bank. The Fund has resources of close to €170 million with €20 million allocated as grant financing for Georgia. Overall the European Union is the largest Contributor to E5P with pledged funds of €70 million. Contributors to the Georgian window of E5P include: the EU, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the USA.
The objective of the Seminar is to learn about investment needs of Georgian municipal companies and find ways to match these with the grant and loan co-financing mechanism offered by E5P. Compared to the EU average, the energy intensity of Georgia is about 2.5 times higher. Georgia has vast resources of almost all types of renewable energy and an untapped potential to save energy in its buildings. Also waste management and public transport can benefit from E5P grant funds.
The participants to the Seminar include representatives from the Georgian state authorities, municipal companies, International Financing Institutions active in E5P, Ambassadors and honorary representatives from the donor countries, and the European Union as the largest contributor to the Fund.
According to Anders Lund, Е5Р Fund Manager: ‘The seminar will provide and opportunity to understand energy efficiency problems of the municipalities in Georgia and find solutions to them in a group of key players in the sector’.
David Lezhava, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, has commented: ‘It is an excellent opportunity for Georgia to finance environmentally friendly investments. We are just starting and are hopeful that E5P resources will increase as we move forward. Joining E5P instantaneously boosted demand for such projects. Demand is so high from Georgian municipalities and there are so many project proposals from the donors and IFIs that we will have to select only the very best.’
About E5P:
The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership - E5P is a Euro 170 million multi-donor fund managed by the EBRD designed to promote energy efficiency investments in Georgia and other eastern European countries. E5P was set up under the initiative of the Swedish government during its Presidency of the European Union in 2009.The fund will complement energy efficiency loans provided by financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation and the World Bank Group.
Contributors to E5P include European Union, Armenia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Ukraine and the USA. The European Union is the largest contributor to the E5P fund.