Expert Mission to Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management
The Expert Missions, as a ManagEnergy initiative, provide know-how to energy agencies in the field of energy efficiency financing in their own region/city.The focus is on planning, developing and implementing sustainable energy projects. The expert and the energy agency team can work on strategic market development activities as well as specific projects. The expert can also support the energy agency in analysing possibilities to finance new services and activities. The highly customised missions include meetings with regional/local stakeholders with the aim of overcoming barriers in relation to sustainable energy investments. The expert also gathers information about successful initiatives and projects developed by the host agency and shares them with the energy agency community and the European Sustainable Energy Week (EASME).
The Expert Mission in Bulgaria was delivered from the 13th to 15rd November 2019 with the Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management (BSRAEM). The Agency has been established by UBBSLA since 2003 but did not have much experience in financing large scale sustainable energy projects so far. The activities of the BSRAEM cover the territory of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast where they collaborate with the Agency for Sustainable Energy Development and the regional energy centres in Bulgaria. There is a very good cooperation potential and already established links with partners from neighbouring countries – Greece, Moldova, Ukraine which could be a significant advantage and development potential for BSRAEM to become a regional centre of excellence and knowledge provider for a wider region.
The three days intensive expert mission was delivered by Dr Julije Domac and the main aim was to help BSRAEM to plan, structure and develop large scale sustainable energy investment concepts which may be applicable for the European Investment Bank’s ELENA facility and other technical assistance support mechanisms. The mission consisted in the following activities:
- First day started with a meeting between the expert; Mr Todor Tonev and Ms Elena Simeonova (BSRAEM team). The meeting focused on BSRAEM activities and project portfolio in order to understand and develop the most suitable development concepts. The second half of the first day was dedicated to a meeting in the City of Beloslav where the team had a long discussion with the Mayor Deyan Ivanov. A working session was held in the afternoon with Beloslav municipal experts and councilors where the expert presented some of the best practise project examples and options for sustainable financing which could be used to develop municipal projects in the Black Sea region.
- On the second day, there was a meeting with Mr Yanko Georgiev, director of Ibank, a Bulgarian bank active in the region and at the national level. The team presented ELENA and other PDA (Project Development Assistance) schemes and had an in-depth discussion on how to finance large scale investment projects. Two meetings with mayor/deputy mayor of Devnya and Aksakovo municipalities confirmed that there is a wide range of already identified project ideas and a strong political will to implement them. Some of the project ideas discussed included PV stand alone systems and PV (RES) cooperatives, streetlighting, public building refurbishment, geothermal energy etc. A separate meeting was held with Mr Mladen Ivanov, Head of Urban Transport Planning department of Varna Municipality where different aspects and plans for e-mobility and urban infrastructure investments were discussed.
- Last day was spent in BSRAEM office in an interactive session with the whole BSRAEM team to wrap-up and make an action plan for further activities. It was agreed that BSRAEM and REGEA experts will continue to work together and will meet again in Zagreb on 4th December to discuss the concepts to be developed in the meantime and to expand the cooperation.
