25.09.2019 | News
Several energy-efficiency projects are currently being implemented in the city of Bila Tserkva with financing provided from NEFCO. The results of the first implemented project – modernisation of the street lighting system – were presented by the Mayor of Bila Tserkva earlier in September.
Cooperation between Bila Tserkva City Council and NEFCO began in 2016. An energy audit was conducted on request by the City Council to determine the city’s most costly energy assets. One of the objects identified in the audit was the city’s street lighting, so it was decided to modernise the street lighting system. Areas and streets in the city to be included in the project scope were selected and a project plan developed.
The members of the City Council unanimously supported the signing of a loan agreement with NEFCO at the end of 2017 aimed at modernising the street lighting network in the city. In spring 2018, Soyuz Svitlo Ukraine LLC was selected as the implementing agency following a tender process.
The project scope included the replacement of lighting in 80 streets in the city. Over 2300 new LED lamps and 83 terminals for automatic street lighting control systems were installed, 15 control cabinets were replaced and 68 control cabinets upgraded, and more than 30 km of self-supporting insulated wire was laid.
The modernisation of the street lighting network and implementation of energy-efficient LED luminaries have several advantages. Firstly, LED lamps have a three to eight times longer operational life than bulb lamps, which reduces both maintenance costs and electricity consumption, and secondly, well-lit streets and city roads increase safety for the city inhabitants.
The savings achieved for the first eight months of this year compared with last year are approx. 219,000 kWh, which means a financial saving of more than UAH 650,000 (approx. EUR 22,000), even though the number of light points was increased. A total of 81 new ones were installed, and the lights have been in full use.
The total investment by the project was UAH 16 million, of which UAH 12 million was a loan from NEFCO (approx. EUR 400,000) and UAH 4 million (approx. EUR 100,000) was co-financing from the city. Technical assistance, including project preparations and implementation support, for the project was financed by Sweden.
“Within the first street lighting project, we have not only increased the number of light points in the city but also reduced the electricity consumption. Financial savings is an important factor for the city administration. Our main task, however, is to develop the street lighting infrastructure and through that increase the safety of our inhabitants,” says Gennady Dykyi, Mayor of Bila Tserkva.
“The implemented project in Bila Tserkva was our twenty fifth completed street lighting project in Ukraine, and we hope our good cooperation with the city can inspire other cities to modernise and upgrade their street lighting networks,” says Julia Shevchuk, Chief Investment Adviser in Ukraine.
A second street lighting project in the city, with NEFCO financing, is currently under preparation. NEFCO is also financing a project aimed at modernising the district heating network in the city under the DemoUkrainaDH programme. Within this programme, the boiler room will be modernised, pipes replaced and new individual heating pipes installed.
NEFCO currently has more than 200 ongoing projects, in different implementation stages, targeting both public and private borrowers. In addition, NEFCO is a fund manager for several programmes financed by the Nordic governments related to energy efficiency, renewable energy and district heating in Ukraine.