EcoLur
The results of the high-level conference on the revelation of the potential of energy efficiency in Armenia have been summarized. The conference was held in Yerevan on 7-8 November and was organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia in partnership with the EU Energy Program. As it is known the European Union supports the programs aimed at the decrease in the energy dependence of the countries of the Eastern Partnership at the expense of efferctive amanagement of energy consumption.
The results of the conference showed though Armenia declared about its priority of energy efficiency, it has obstacles to the implementation of this policy. There are some to be outlined. Thus, the website of the European Delegation to Armenia says:
The key challenges that Armenia is facing in unlocking the larger market potential for energy efficiency investments are:
1. The remaining regulatory and enforcement gaps in energy efficiency, building and housing
management legislation;
2. Lack of tailor-made financing instruments for serving the needs of mixed-income multiapartment
buildings and poorly maintained public buildings;
3. Lack of rural households’ access to modern energy services and energy efficiency solutions;
4. Lack of incentives and targeted grant assistance necessary to ensure not only economic
viability of investments in energy efficiency, but also safety, accessibility and seismic
resilience of the buildings.
5. Insufficient technical and institutional capacities for designing and implementing energy
efficiency projects, policies, investments, adequate procurement processes;
6. Low level of awareness among all players in the field of energy efficiency - from
government stakeholders, designers, contractors, developers to end-users.
In practice, it means though the Armenian Government declared about the efforts and priorities in energy efficiency, the EU will provide funding in case of taking certain measures. The key points here are as follows:
Enforcement of the adopted legislation remains a key task for energy efficiency in buildings.
This includes building energy codes, standards, certification, building energy performance
evaluation, monitoring and verification, energy management, design of near-zero energy
buildings, etc.
2. The residential sector and multi-apartment buildings in particular have a significant
potential to benefit from energy efficiency reforms and investments. Unlocking the potential in
this sector will be possible with strong commitment from and ownership by the government, as
well as joint efforts and enhanced support by the donor community.
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3. In the public buildings sector, investments should continue to contribute to development of
the energy efficiency market, and help the public sector to alleviate the energy cost burden on
public budgets. The R2E2 Fund could be considered as a useful platform for channelling
investments in this sector and has significant potential to be scaled up to achieve Armenia’s EE
and RES targets.
4. Enhanced coordination between the government, donors and other stakeholders could be
achieved through a platform led by the R2E2 Fund, which could help to prioritize investments
in the buildings sector.
5. Innovative financing models should be developed to tackle the main bottlenecks. They
should consider an integrated approach, combining investments in energy efficiency and
renewable sources, including in rural areas.
6. Awareness raising is crucial to achieve behavioural changes and so contribute to unlocking
the market potential.
The EU4Energy Initiative is part of the Eastern Partnership. In this specific initiative, the European Union works with the six Eastern Partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), as well as the five states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the region. The EU finances projects and programmes that promote energy market reforms and sustainable energy solutions to assist partner countries in reducing their energy dependency, making them more resilient, whilst also reducing their carbon footprint. These measures also help households and businesses manage more efficiently their energy consumption.
December 15, 2017 at 19:39