OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2012. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending USD  4 million to ProCredit Bank Moldova to finance energy efficiency projects in the country. The facility will be used for on-lending to residential customers to support the efficient use of energy in households.

The EBRD loan will allow ProCredit Bank Moldova to help local households to acquire and install more efficient equipment, appliances and materials, such as double-glazed windows, insulation, gas boilers, solar water heaters and rooftop solar panels, and to reduce their energy bills and make their homes more cost efficient.

The loan is part of the EBRD’s Moldovan Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (MoREEFF), which provides EUR 35 million in loans to local partner banks for financing residential energy efficiency improvements. MoREEFF is the first vehicle in Moldova to address this untapped sector and increase public awareness among the wide range of stakeholders. 

MoREEFF is supported by a grant of EUR 5 million provided by the European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility (EU NIF) and EUR 2.3 million from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to be used for technical assistance and investment incentives for households. 

Any Moldovan house owner or association of home owners, energy service company (ESCO), developer or facility management company that takes a loan under MoREEFF is entitled to receive a grant of 20 per cent, 30 per cent or even up to 35 per cent of the loan amount, respectively, towards the cost of the energy saving project, once it has been completed to a standard specified in MoREEFF’s terms and conditions.

In addition, the EBRD has engaged consultants to support banks and households with technical advice for energy-saving investments, enabling home owners to make the transition from under-performing, low-quality equipment and materials, towards investing in better-performing, more efficient products that will deliver greater benefits throughout their lifetime.

“The EBRD is one of the main long-term fund providers for the banking sector of Moldova, and financing energy efficiency investments is viewed as the key priority whereby we can really make the difference for the business community and home owners. Luckily, we have a number of strong and committed local partner banks, such as ProCredit Bank, which we trust will allow for the successful implementation of the project, leading to much lower energy bills for the population,” said Henry Russell, Director, Financial Institutions at the EBRD.

“We are pleased to be part of the programme and to receive this energy efficiency credit line from the EBRD. Social responsibility towards the environment is one of our guiding principles at ProCredit Bank Moldova, and the ProCredit group as a whole. Earlier this year we received an energy efficiency credit line from the EBRD (MoSEFF II) for on-lending to very small, small and medium-sized business clients. Today’s agreement is the next step in our commitment to supporting environmentally friendly projects. In particular, it means that we can offer direct support to private clients in improving their living conditions and in saving energy. Our overall goal is to provide our private clients with the best and most appropriate home-improvement solutions,” said Natalia Osadcii, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of ProCredit Bank Moldova.

As a part of the Germany-based group of 21 banks, ProCredit Bank Moldova is a medium-sized development-oriented commercial bank providing a full range of banking services to very small, small and medium business clients as well as offering reliable savings facilities to private clients.

Since the beginning of its operations in Moldova, the EBRD, one of the largest investors in Moldova, has signed 92 investment projects, covering energy, transport, agribusiness, general industry and banking sectors, for a cumulative amount of almost EUR 713 million.