Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BeSMART (Bulgarian Energy Efficiency Forum on Smart Finance for Smart Buildings)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-05-01 al 2022-10-31
Despite the political insecurity and the lack of stable government in Bulgaria within the entire 2021 and 2022, a draft strategy for the organization, timing and design of the roundtables events was prepared, utilizing synergies with external initiatives and events as the SMAFIN roundtables and series of events targeted to the local authorities, including the EcoEnergy conferences and the annual gatherings of the Association of the Bulgarian Energy Agencies. With all key developments and external events taken into account, the 4 roundtables were scheduled under the guidance of EcoEnergy and successfully organized in hybrid format, allowing the participation of the desired speakers even in case of limitations regarding physical attendance. Except for project partners, representatives from the Bulgarian Fund of Funds, the Bulgarian Development Bank, the Bulgarian Energy Efficiency and Renewable Sources Fund, various NGOs such as Habitat for Humanity and WWF, as well as the biggest commercial banks were among the speakers at the events. The events are considered as very successful, attracting 455 on-site and online participants and resulting in more than 138 publications in the professional and general media.
The conclusions of the events were documented in extensive proceedings in Bulgarian and English (available on the website of the BeSmart project). Based on the preliminary planning and the roundtable discussions, 4 technical working groups were formed and working under the coordination of AEE. As a result, a long list of 29 potential topics for policy recommendations is prepared, out of which 4 are already delivered: 1) Establishing of interactive national ESCO register; 2) Creation of a working segment to the NDF with the capacity to interact with innovative models for the implementation of EE/RES projects of the ESCO type; 3) Introduction of regulations that ease the financial burden on the citizens when programming the NRRP in the project for renovation of multifamily residential buildings; 4) National roadmap for renovation of the multifamily residential buildings. The recommendations are presented at thematic roundtable sessions, applied in the public consultation process for the relevant projects under the NRRP, and used in the discussions of the Commission for Energy Efficiency and Energy Poverty at the National Council for the EU Green Deal under the auspices of the deputy prime minister of Bulgaria.
1. To organize and conduct the remaining 5 roundtables with the involvement of the government, local and regional authorities, financial sector, ESCOs, homeowners, industry sector, construction and SME sector, providing sustainability, enlarging the scope and promoting the activities and outcomes of the Sustainable Energy Investment Forums in Bulgaria;
2. To support the application of innovative business models, commercial and industrial partnerships, and projects pipelines, based on the emerging financial instruments, through development of template documents and contracts leading to a better functioning of the market;
3. Preparation of at least 4 more political recommendations by the Technical working group to support the development and provide written recommendations to the implementation programmes under the national LTRS and to influence the design of the operational programmes in the next EU financial framework to maximise the leverage of public resources.
4. To continue the work on a new national energy efficiency financing platform integrating the capacities of the different existing financing instruments, providing a concept for its establishment, embodied by the National Decarbonisation Fund proposed in the new LTRS.