There is significant potential for improvement in energy efficiency in Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s energy intensity is more than seven times the OECD average, almost three times the rate in Poland and twice that in Romania. However, energy conservation investments can be small and are hampered by a number of market imperfections.

The BEERECL has been established to support industrial energy efficiency and small renewable projects in the private sector. The facility was designed using funding from the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF). The KIDSF was established by the EBRD in May 2002 to assist with the closure of the oldest, first generation Soviet designed blocks of the Kozloduy Nuclear Plant in Bulgaria (see www.ebrd.com/enviro/nuclear/new/sofia.pdf). Contributors are the European Union, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

In addition to providing grants for on-site decommissioning investments at Kozloduy, the KIDSF also focuses international support on essential investment projects within the Bulgarian energy sector. These investments help achieve the country’s strategic energy objectives, as outlined in the 2003 Bulgarian Energy Law. These objectives include securing supplies, guaranteeing nuclear safety and improving energy efficiency (For further information see www.seea.government.bg; www.dker.bg; www.doe.bg; www.moew.government.bg).

The EBRD designed the BEERECL to support Bulgaria’s new energy law. Specifically the BEERECL aims to overcome market imperfections which impede the energy conservation market in Bulgaria. Among others, the facility will demonstrate the benefits of rational energy use, build expertise among participating banks and sub-borrowers (including small and medium-sized enterprises), and increase financial intermediation targeted at energy utilisation.