Existing buildings undergoing renovation and new builds will have to comply with a set of minimum energy efficiency requirements, such as insulating walls, changing doors and windows, heating and domestic hot water installations or replacing lighting.

These regulations come to accelerate the transition to green energy and harmonize the national regulatory framework to European standards. To this end, the Ministry of Energy with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID Moldova), through the Energy Security of the Republic of Moldova (#MESA) Project, and in partnership with the Energy Efficiency Agency, Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, have developed a set of minimum requirements necessary to improve energy efficiency in 9 types of buildings:

individual houses,
residential blocks,
office buildings,
educational buildings,
healthcare buildings,
hotels and restaurants,
sports buildings,
commercial buildings,
mixed-use buildings.

The requirements developed result from a feasibility study on a sample of 1200 renovation scenarios for several reference buildings. These regulations will be applied by architectural designers, designers of lighting, heating, domestic hot water, ventilation and air-conditioning systems to ensure that rebuilt and newly constructed buildings meet minimum energy performance requirements.

At the same time, once the requirements have been implemented, buildings will be able to be energy certified so that potential buyers/tenants will be informed about the energy efficiency of buildings.

"We have made progress on the energy crisis management side, now we are focusing on the decarbonization agenda, where the number one priority is energy efficiency. Buildings consume almost half of all energy resources, and improving energy performance benefits every consumer by reducing consumption, bill costs and CO2 emissions," said Victor Parlicov, Minister of Energy.

The Energy Security of the Republic of Moldova (MESA) project provided support to the Ministry of Energy in drafting the Law on Energy Performance of Buildings, these minimum requirements being a secondary regulatory framework. "The application of these minimum standards will generate efficient consumption of energy resources, increase comfort in homes, offices and public buildings, and facilitate Moldova's transition to a green, sustainable and clean energy future," added MESA Director Armen Arzumanyan.