The priorities of the “Sustainable Energy Efficiency Transition in Moldova (STEEM)” project was addressed during a high-level World Bank mission, which is in the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the preparation of the new project, financed by the World Bank Group and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund “Moldova – Development, Resilience and Opportunities for Well-being (M-GROW).

To this end, a series of meetings and on-site visits were held with the participation of the Ministry of Energy, Termoelectrica S.A., the Consolidated Unit for the Implementation and Monitoring of Energy Projects (UCIPE) and other project partners.

During the discussions, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Carolina Novac, emphasized that ensuring a higher level of energy efficiency in public buildings is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Energy, as public buildings in the country have an overconsumption of energy of about 50%. “We want to offer people comfort and quality energy services, without overheating the rooms. At the Ministry of Energy, we have made the decision to invest in energy efficiency, so that we can later save these resources through bills”.

In this context, the director of UCIPE, Ruslan Surugiu, mentioned that the main energy efficiency measures that the 46 schools across the country will benefit from are: thermal insulation, replacement of windows and doors, renovation of lighting and heating systems, as well as the installation of heat pumps, solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels. “Through all these measures, the beneficiary public institutions will reduce their energy consumption, but will also ensure part of the energy needed for their own consumption. Thus, the saved financial resources will be directed to other development needs of these institutions”

Another component of the project provides for financing measures to improve the energy efficiency of the thermal energy supply system of public buildings, including 11 schools. Thus, approximately 250 individual thermal points (PTI) will be installed at the building level and the thermal energy supply network within the centralized system will be reconfigured.

“By installing Individual Thermal Points, we will have an important element of automation. This involves regulating consumption, including depending on the outdoor air temperature, therefore, bills will be paid, arising from necessity. From our experience, after installing Individual Thermal Points, thermal energy consumption decreases from 10% to 20% depending on the conditions and specifics of each building” added the general director of Termoelectrica S.A., Iurie Razlovan.

The project “Sustainable Energy Efficiency Transition in Moldova (STEEM)” aims to carry out energy renovation, including institutional development, of 46 schools across the country. Thus, over 46 thousand young people, teachers and employees of educational institutions will benefit from an increased level of comfort. The measures are provided for in the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the implementation of the project “Sustainable Energy Efficiency Transition in Moldova (STEEM)”.

The project will be implemented during 2024 - 2029 with a total budget of 54.5 million US dollars, of which 50 million will be provided by IBRD in the form of a loan, and 4.5 million US dollars in the form of a grant for technical assistance and support for project implementation, to be provided by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) "Moldova - Development, Resilience and Opportunities for Well-being (M-GROW), managed by the World Bank Group. Among the founding partners of M-GROW are Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, which jointly contributed to the MDTF.