A half of municipalities would provide subsidies for windows and solar panels
The Ministry of Mining and Energy received more than 80 applications from local governments for subsidies to improve the energy efficiency of apartments and houses, which they would further direct to citizens, it was said at the session of NALED's Business Friendly Cities and Municipalities Club (BFC Club).
- I would like to remind you that the public call for local governments for the energy rehabilitation of apartments and family houses is open until tomorrow. According to the latest data, 82 local governments applied. I hope that this number will further increase in the finish, because the joint task is to help citizens improve the quality of life with significant subsidies, reduce bills, and at the same time consume less energy and energy sources. I believe that we will soon sign the first contracts based on the public call for energy rehabilitation for public buildings - said the Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović.
NALED Executive Director Violeta Jovanović, pointed out that the green agenda is the organization's first reform priority, and the development of the circular economy, the introduction of "green" criteria in public procurement procedures and the improvement of the position of buyers-producers of electricity are in particular focus.
- With the great support of the USAID Better Energy project, we made a set of 15 regulatory recommendations to improve the position of consumers, which we hope will be adopted. Also, this year, among the criteria for obtaining a certificate on the favorable business environment of BFC SEE, we added environmental protection and the promotion of the circular economy - said Jovanović.
When it comes to prosumers, one of the main recommendations is to enable residential buildings to be producers-consumers, even when they are not the owners of the power plant, that is, they can lease a part of the roof for the installation of panels. Representatives of local governments pointed out that they are already receiving inquiries from residential communities about the possibility of installing solar panels.
Lena Bratić, director of USAID's Better Energy projects, said that the project, which lasts until 2026, particularly focuses on citizens, especially those who live in residential communities. In their mission, as she stated, they rely on partnerships with the state and local governments.
- Citizens should use the subsidies for energy efficiency while they are still high. As part of the project, we are planning to create an info center where citizens will be able to get all the information about incentives and all other issues in the field of energy efficiency in one place - said Bratić and announced that as a pilot project, a cadastre of individual energy producers will be created in Pirot, the first of its kind in the region.
The BFC Club brings together 25 cities and municipalities in Serbia that have successfully passed or are in the Certification Program for Business Friendly Municipalities in Southeast Europe (BFC SEE).
