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The Alliance to Save Energy began its operations in Ukraine in 1997 under a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/USAID Mission for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova to design innovative international energy-efficiency initiatives. The objective of the Ukraine Energy Efficiency Program has been to develop energy efficiency as a means of helping the country manage its rising energy demands in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective way. The main components of the Alliance activities in Ukraine include: Education and Awareness Alliance will make sure municipal leaders around Ukraine know that MUNEE is a resource and service to be used by them; to ensure that city officials learn about the energy efficiency option as they deal with energy problems. Energy Efficiency Finance Alliance and its partners are stimulating the commercial climate for energy efficiency investments in the municipal sector in Ukraine, trying to assist micro credit lenders and SME funds to identify municipal and private borrowers to develop smaller but replicable energy efficiency projects. ESCO Development Project USAID and the US Department of Energy supported the Alliance's efforts of development of Ukraine Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). It was performed by coordinating an effort to forge relationships between Ukraine's ESCOs and the US and Western energy efficiency industry. The objective was to create a mutually beneficial partnership: Ukraine's ESCOs needed access to information on state-of-the-art equipment and services in order to be able to provide a quality service to their clients. The Alliance also assisted in establishing an Association of Ukrainian Energy Service Companies (UAESCO), a service-oriented Ukrainian NGO that can effectively enhance the sustainability of ESCOs in Ukraine. The Alliance provided technical assistance to Ukraine's ESCOs to strengthen their capacity to function independently and to explore ways in which they can promote the development of a market for ESCO services. The Alliance has organized, sponsored and participated in a number of seminars and conferences on energy efficiency and energy saving in Kiev and the regions of Ukraine. Global Climate Change Mitigation Program As a signatory nation to the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Global Climate Change, Ukraine's government and population are concerned about the threats posed by global climate change. And since Ukraine is among the world's least energy efficient countries, it is clear that reducing energy consumption is among the most attractive available means of reducing emission of greenhouse gases. The Alliance is working to emphasize the role of energy efficiency in Ukraine's climate change policy. The Multilateral Climate Change Working Group gathered by Alliance initiative, provided a forum for multilateral donors to work with one another and with domestic stakeholders to coordinate their efforts to assist Ukraine. The Ukrainian NGO Climate Change Working Group initiated by the Alliance involved many Ukrainian environmental NGOs in active work on climate change issues and helped to coordinate Ukrainian NGO activities in this area. Members of the Working Group are taking part in international and domestic climate change fora and conducting numerous awareness raising activites throughout Ukraine. Lviv Municipal Demonstration Project Modern, thermostatic control systems have not previously been used in Ukraine's district heated buildings. The Alliance utilized U.S. expertise to develop a system that substantially reduces energy consumption and, at the same time improves building comfort through more even heat distribution. The Alliance subsequently used Ukrainian know-how to reduce system's costs by 70 percent through utilization of local components which achieve the same results as the imported equipment. Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) With the lead of local partners, the Agency for Rational Energy Use and Ecology (ARENA ECO) and Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), the Alliance is working on capitalizing recent changes in budgetary policy that may enable Ukrainian cities to transfer operating expenses from energy use to investment category (thus providing an incentive to reduce energy costs, with savings used for other city needs). This work, in conjunction with analysis of successful municipal energy management - notably in Lviv, Rivne and Chernigiv - will be disseminated throughout the country via the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC). Municipal NGO Development Following the initial phase of its work, the Alliance began seeking vehicles to disseminate lessons learned in Lviv to other municipalities in Western Ukraine. Since 1999, the Alliance has worked closely with a new municipal NGO, the Ukrainian Association of Energy Efficient Cities (UNEEC) and a regional municipal NGO, the Lviv branch of the Association for Municipal and Regional Development (AMReD) to assist municipalities in addressing energy issues. Municipal Roll-Out The district heating pilot project at the Lviv Boarding School and other activities in Lviv have served as models for the Municipal Roll-Out of technologies to six additional cities - Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Lutsk, Slavutych and Khmelnitsky. The objective has been to involve local stakeholders - city administrations, district heating companies and the private sector - in building-level energy efficiency projects in order to provide each with the capacity to work with one another in the future to independently implement additional projects. Networks The Alliance is working with the AUC to increase the Association's interest and involvement in municipal energy issues. Alliance will use AUC's extensive channels to get useful information - such as the success stories - out to those who can best use the information. Alliance will also hold workshops in conjunction with AUC meetings and conferences. Policy Reform Alliance and its partners are identifying key national policy barriers and local obstacles that reduce incentives to invest in energy efficiency, taking lessons learned from other countries in the region. The findings of these interviews will be compiled into a paper to be disseminated throughout the Association of Ukrainian Cities. Being the main lobbying arm for cities in Ukraine, we plan to work with the AUC to push for change in national policy that will create the incentives for cities to reduce energy waste. Again, the cities' lack of authority and control over their own finances is probably the largest policy constraint; when everything related to a city's budget is determined in the country's capital city, a mayors' options are limited. The tasks are: to examine policies in Ukraine that hinder a city's ability and incentive to invest in energy efficiency. Working with local partners, MUNEE will also work to promote policy reform in Ukraine; to develop and disseminate, in local languages, practical tools and management strategies to help cities reduce energy waste; to train municipal officials in how to use these tools and to help city leaders assess the overall costs of energy on the total city budget. Steam Partnership The Alliance was taking the successes of its domestic steam efficiency program to Ukraine in the formation of a Steam Partnership, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Alliance and the Ukrainian efficiency center Arena-Eco established a clearinghouse that serves as a free, one-stop shop for information about how to measure and improve the efficiency of steam systems. Additional steps included conducting steam efficiency workshops, follow-on trainings and technology demonstrations. Water and Energy Efficiency Program A significant amount of energy is lost because of inefficient management of the municipal water supply and sanitation sector. The Alliance approached this sector in Ukraine by disseminating international and regional experience of efficient water and energy use in municipal water systems and establishing working contacts with interested state agencies, local governments, water utilities and equipment suppliers. The Alliance distributes a brochure containing methodology for efficient water and energy management and relevant case studies among Ukrainian water utilities. Alliance representatives also often present the WATERGY program experience at various conferences, seminars and roundtables and has identified a number of water and energy efficiency projects in partnership with local communities. Why is MUNEE cataloging success stories? Because what cities have done in Ukraine and what is replicable without donor financing can convince other cities to do the same. As a result, MUNEE has worked with the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) to provide a variety of tools and ideas from which cities can choose what works for them. For More Information, Contact: |
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