KfW Projects in Serbia
Promotion of Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency across the Financial Sector in Serbia
Donor: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), EU
Partner: Ministry of Energy and Mining; miscellaneous financial institutions (Banks, Leasing and Insurance Companies)
Project period: 2008–2027
Challenges
- Low energy efficiency: Serbia consumes four times more energy to generate one unit of Gross National Income (GNI) than Germany.
- Serbian enterprises still use old and inefficient production facilities and the existing building stock is mostly obsolete and needs to be renewed. Energy-efficient construction, thermal insulation of buildings and modern heating systems as well as environmentally friendly vehicles are in many cases economically viable.
- However, current low electricity prices do not foster energy savings neither in households nor in the industry.
- The existing renewable energy potential is hardly used.
Approach
The program finances economically sustainable and environmentally friendly projects in small and medium-sized enterprises, private households as well as municipalities. The financing resources will be provided to the participating banks by KfW.
In addition to the above-mentioned credit lines, KfW offers advisory services to the Serbian financial institutions participating in the programme. Only investments with an energy saving impact of at least 20%, or a reduction of CO2 emissions of at least 20% are supported by the programme.
Impact
The programme:
- enhances long-term efficient and environmentally friendly energy utilisation,
- supports the establishment of a “green” banking product (“eco-loans”) in Serbia.
KfW will financially support the implementation of credit lines for EE and RE with a total volume of EUR 123 million. Approximately 13,500 final borrowers have already received a loan. Investments in EE and RE will continue through funds committed through new programme – Low Carbon Energy facility which will provide additional 100 million EUR.