OREANDA-NEWS. The EBRD is supporting the more sustainable consumption of energy in the Slovak Republic with a EUR 15 million loan to Vseobecna uverova banka, a.s. (VUB) one of the country’s leading banks. The funds will be on-lent to municipal borrowers, private municipal service providers, energy service companies and housing associations for energy efficiency projects.

The loan comes under the EU/EBRD Municipal Finance Facility for Energy Efficiency and will be complemented by technical assistance and grant support provided by the European Union and available for final borrowers. The facility aims at lessening Slovakia’s high dependency on imports of gas and oil and reducing its energy intensity by improving the country’s energy efficiency and sustainability.

The facility also serves to meet the high demand for energy efficiency among smaller companies as well as municipal and household consumers. While the Slovak Republic has made significant progress in improving its energy consumption, only about one third of residential buildings have been refurbished by the end of 2012 and most of the 15,000 public buildings require rehabilitation.

The EBRD has been supporting energy efficiency in the Slovak Republic for several years through a number of programmes. In 2007, the Bank launched the Slovak Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (SlovSEFF) which, to date has supported around 680 sustainable energy investments worth over €150 million.

By targeting improvements in residential buildings, the modernisation of industrial processes and the production of energy from renewable sources, this facility alone saves around 550,000 MWh per year and avoids annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Since the beginning of its operations in the Slovak Republic, the EBRD has invested over EUR 1.79 billion in about 126 projects in the country, mobilising about EUR 4.4 billion of financing from other sources.