10 December 2014, Belgrade
CEDEF Summit
THE FOURTH SUMMIT OF SERBIAN ENERGY MANAGERS - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Central European Forum for Development, CEDEF, under institutional auspices of the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce organised the Fourth CEDEF Summit energy managers Serbia - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
The objectives of the CEDEF Summit were to:
- Indicate the possibilities of more efficient use of resources in order to achieve cost savings, improve the quality of life and preserve the environment,
- Present opportunities to improve energy efficiency in local governments through public-private partnerships, ESCO concept of cooperation and other ways of financing,
- Introduce modern technologies and their application in the field of energy utilities or public lighting, waste, water, HVAC systems, systems of production and distribution of electricity and many other smart solutions, in order to improve sustainability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of public services in cities,
- Highlight the importance and role of energy managers and education through MEMS.
Fourth Summit of Energy managers of Serbia gathered more than 120 participants, out of which 50 were representatives of local governments in Serbia, i.e. energy managers that are responsible for improving energy efficiency in their municipalities. As financing the energy efficiency projects in local governments is often the biggest obstacle, new financing models were introduced on the Summit, as well as the advantages of ESCO agreement concept and PPP arrangements, followed with the best technologies that can contribute to savings and better energy efficiency of Serbian cities.
Smart management of energy encompasses the application of modern technologies in the area of public lighting, communal waste, water supply, climatization, heating and cooling systems as well as systems for monitoring and controlling their implementation. More efficient and intelligent usage of resources brings us to significant savings, which improves citizens’ quality of life and preserves the environment. The consumption of energy in public institutions in Serbia is far above the average in the EU. Until 2020, we should invest a sum of 1,6 billion Euros to achieve the EU average - only in the area of construction.
MEGLIP – Municipal Environment Grant Loan Investment Programme, KfW was presented on the Summit.KfW German development bank, based on positive experience with the realization of previous project (MICLP – Municipality Infrastructure Credit Lines Project), initiated the extension of credit financial support of public infrastructure in Serbian cities and municipalities, including their public utility companies. For these purposes more than 30 million Euros of credit support have been provided, that will be combined with 4,6 million Euros of grant loans that are provided by IPA Funds of European Union. Grants are given for successfully finished projects in the amount of 15-20% of credit spent, depending on the purpose of investment. Targeted areas are: energy efficiency projects, renewable energy sources and environmental protection at the local level.
Programme of the Fourth Summit can be downloaded here.
Photographs from the Summit can be downloaded here.
