Ukraine Partnership Bureau

€90 MILLION EASTERN EUROPE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENT PARTNERSHIP FUND BEGINS OPERATION

€90 MILLION EASTERN EUROPE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENT PARTNERSHIP FUND BEGINS OPERATION

Fund to promote energy savings in Ukraine and other eastern European countries.

First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy Andriy Klyuyev and EBRD Vice-President Jan Fischer have signed an agreement on a €10 million contribution by Ukraine to the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) Fund. The signing of the Contribution Agreement with Ukraine will now allow E5P to start operations and provide grant funding to Ukraine as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova, where high energy intensity is widespread and there remains wide scope for efficiency improvement across all economic sectors.
E5P is a €90 million multi-donor fund managed by the EBRD designed to promote energy efficiency investments in Ukraine and other eastern European countries and 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.

Grants under E5P will be allocated to four priority areas: district heating, other energy efficiency projects, environment projects in Ukraine as well as additional projects in other eastern European countries.

In addition to promoting energy efficiency in district heating projects, funding will also support other investments aimed at making substantial energy savings. Environmental projects, such as waste water or renewable energy, will also be within the scope of the grant funding.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the largest financial investor in Ukraine. As of 31 December 2010, the Bank had committed over €6 billion through 264 projects.