The Project for promoting Energy Efficiency in Croatia (the EE Project) started in July 2005 as the joint project of the then Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, and the United Nations Development Programme, with financial assistance from the Global Environment Facility and the Fund.
Within the EE Project, the three main components were developed: the project entitled Sustainable Energy Management in Cities and Counties (SGE), the Government Programme “Bring your house in order” (HIO), and the national information and education campaign. The objective of the project was to set the basis for a systematic and efficient energy management in the public sector, and to educate and inform the citizens about energy efficiency and energy efficient products and systems, which can contribute to reducing energy consumption and the emissions of CO2.
During its implementation, the following participants actively joined the project: 85 towns, 16 counties, all the ministries and some state administration bodies, which also established their own energy management teams. The EE teams consist of educated staff members who monitor and plan energy consumption, and engage in other activities, such as development of energy efficiency projects, and advisory activities for the citizens. Through different courses, workshops and lectures conducted under the project, more than 29 000 employees in public services were trained, and numerous brochures, manuals, publications, and multimedia contents were developed, which had an important educational and information role. In addition, in 52 towns and 12 counties 128 EE info points were set up providing free-of-charge information to the citizens about energy efficiency. The key tool developed within the project is the national Energy Management Information System (EMIS), which holds the data on consumption for more than 75% of public buildings. The data on consumption are regularly entered into EMIS, and are later used for consumption calculations, analyses, and control. The application carries out one part of the required consumption analyses and controls automatically, and in the case of critical results (e.g. drastic increase of energy or water consumption), it notifies the competent persons. Likewise, based on the information obtained in the analyses, the experts responsible for energy management can identify and implement the necessary measures to increase energy efficiency, which in the end results in energy and financial savings.
The EE Project was officially closed in 2013 with the Agreement on the transfer of activities to national institutions concluded by the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, UNDP, the Fund, and the Agency for Legal Trade and Real Estate Mediation (APN). The implementation of the project activities will continue, and the implementing authorities are APN (for the Energy Management Information System – EMIS system), the Fund and the local EE teams.
TOTAL VALUE OF THE PROJECT: 123.738.800 kn
RESORUCES PAID BY THE FUND: 88.634.000 kn
RESULTS OF THE PROJECT: The overall estimated savings owing to the introduction of systematic energy management in the period from 2010 until September 2013 amount to almost 150 million kunas. With the implementation of the specific energy renovation projects, the savings potential ranges from 30 to 50%.