The Croatian
Ministry of Economy called a tender on November 21 2005 to
award financing totalling Kuna 5.75 million ($548 million)
to domestic companies to develop the country’s renewable
energy resources and increase the competitiveness of local
equipment suppliers at home and abroad. Financing will be
available for all types of renewable energy production
including hydropower plants with a capacity of up to 10MW,
wind, biomass, solar, biofuel, biogas and geothermal energy.
The tender is the latest part of the ministry’s efforts to
improve energy efficiency and develop renewables. As part of
the process of joining the EU, Croatia has pledged to ensure
that 20% of its energy is generated from renewable sources
by 2010. Oil and fossil fuels currently meet nearly 50% of
Croatia’s energy needs, while natural gas is responsible for
a further 25%. Croatia is keen to reduce its heavy
dependence on fuel and power imports, as well as reverse the
low competitiveness and high-energy intensity of the
country’s industrial sector, at a time when domestic power
consumption is rising three times faster than GDP at
4%/year.
PROMO
OPPORTUNITIES
Clean energy marketplace
www.retscreen.net/ang/13.php
The RETScreen International Marketplace helps to promote
the implementation of clean energy projects by
connecting industry, customers and project stakeholders
together via the Internet. Available free-of-charge, it
gives access to clean energy resource maps, equipment
suppliers, service providers and information sources
located around the world.
read more
22.02.2006
LATEST NEWS
DanishCarbon's 2006 Tenders!
(nf-140)
Author: L.Bratic
Published: 18.03. 2006
DanishCarbon.dk is the Danish Governments
programme for the purchasing of Carbon Credits in
Central and Eastern Europe, and the support thereof.
Since 2002 the DanishCarbon.dk team has worked to secure
Carbon Credits for Denmark, and to support Danish
Industry and the Governments of Central and Eastern
Europe in their efforts to build capacity for the
trading of Carbon Credits. DanishCarbon.dk is managed by
the Danish Ministry of the Environment and is built upon
15 years of experience and success in developing and
implementing environmental projects in Central and
Eastern Europe. DanishCarbon.dk’s efforts focus on the
purchase of Carbon Credits in the form of Emission
Reduction Units (ERUs), Early Credit Assigned Amount
Units (AAUs) and Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)
from qualified Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. DanishCarbon.dk is
pleased to invite companies that intends to develop
projects that generates greenhouse gas emission
reductions to participate in its 2006 Tenders, which has
the following deadlines: April 1,
August 1 and November 1, 2006 We are soliciting
Project Idea Notes (PINs) on JI and CDM projects in
Central- and Eastern Europe within the following
eligible types of projects:"
Renewable energy, e.g.
introduction of wind power, biomass, solar,
geothermal energy and small-scale hydro power (below
20MW);
Fuel-switch, e.g. from coal to
gas, coal to biomass, fuel oil to biomass;
Energy Efficiency, e.g. combined
heat and power (CHP), process optimisation, lighting
and insulation
Methane capture, e.g. landfill
gas extraction and biogas extraction
Reductions in industrial
greenhouse gases and N2O, e.g. reduction of
emissions from nitric acid, adipic acid and HCFC
production
We expect your project on average
to generate more than 50.000- tons of CO2e per year
during the crediting period
Should you have an already fully
developed project proposal you can approach
DanishCarbon.dk anytime for an assessment and
negotiation of a purchase contract (ERPA)
Support will be given for projects
dealing with energy efficiency (SAVE), renewables
(ALTENER), the intelligent use of energy in transport
(STEER), co-operation with developing countries
(COOPENER) and horizontal actions, including the
creation of energy agencies. The call only remains open
for 'type 3' projects, i.e. the organisation of events.
Around EUR 51 million is available, with a maximum EU
co-financing rate of 50%.
Deadlines: 28 April 2006
For more information please click
here or contact
Emma Watkins
6th Mediterranean Honorific Award
Author: L.Bratic
Published:20. feb. 2006
Mediterrania CIE and
MIO-ECSDE are calling for candidates to be
considered for the 6th MEDITERRANEAN HONORIFIC
AWARD, which will be given to innovative
projects relating to activities on youth and the
environment. Deadline for applications is
31/03/2006.
The requirements and the contact details are
described in the full text.
DESCRIPTION: This award is open to
all those organisations in the
Mediterranean region working in the
field of the protection of the
environment, culture, as well as on
sustainable development issues. This
year, any innovative project in the
field of such youth-related
activities can be submitted,
Examples of activities include
awareness campaigns, youth meetings
and exchanges, Education for
Sustainable Development projects,
networking, etc.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
1. A letter of presentation in which
the name and complete data of the
project should be clearly mentioned,
as well as a short summary of the
project and how the award became
known to the project manager.
2. A description of the project
(maximum 10 pages). It has to be
sent the original in hard copy and 6
copies in hard copy, electronically
or by CD and must include the
objectives of the project, the
budget, the resources needed, as
well as the control and follow-up
mechanisms.
3. A file with information on the
organization conducting the project.
LANGUAGE: English
ENTRY DATES: from the 1st of
February till the 31st of March
PRIZE: MIO-ECSDE will offer the
winner a cheque for a token amount
so as to support the diffusion of
the project's outcome (e.g.
educational or awareness-raising
material, field work, publication,
etc.).
JURY:
- Prof. Mohammed Ftouhi,
Vice-President of MIO-ECSDE
executive Bureau.
- Prof. Drasko Serman, SEMEP
National Coordinator (Croatia).
- Vicky Malotidi, Mediterranean
Education Initiative on Environment
and Sustainability (MEdIES).
- Angel Juarez, President of MARE
TERRA Foundation.
- Rosalia Angles, Secretariat of
Mediterrania-CIE.
DELIVERY TO: the projects must be
submitted by post and by e-mail
to:MEDITERRANIA, CENTRE D'
INICIATIVES ECOLOGIQUES
Specific Support Actions(SSA) for Western Balkan
Countries
Author: L.Bratic
Published:11. feb. 2006
Call description:
The call aims at selecting high
quality research centres in the Western Balkan
Countries (WBC) for activities such as:
- networking with other research centres in
Member States or Associated States (including
Associated Candidate Countries) and WBC;
organising exchange of personnel and of research
results and joint experiments;
- visiting fellows (teachers and/or
researchers): hosting scientists from abroad for
teaching, training and/or research activities;
- training in Member States or Associated State
(including Associated Candidate Countries) for
Ph.D. students and/or post-doctoral researchers:
sending scientists from the centre for short
stays, to laboratories abroad, either for
specialised training or to carry out a specific
research experiment or to prepare cooperative
activities and/or joint RTD proposals;
- hiring of new young researchers to reinforce
the human potential;
- maintenance, upgrading and/or renewal of the
S&T equipments, in the framework of the RTD
activities of each centre in order to reinforce
internal S&T capacities.
On September 24, USAID and Volksbank BiH
signed an agreement to provide loan guarantees for
municipal rehabilitation projects. USAID will
guarantee 50% of the loans from Volksbank for projects
in the field of water distribution (increase capacity,
decrease losses and other infrastructure-related work).
The total amount available for loan guarantees is $25
million, and cities can get 10 year loans ranging from
$200,000 to $3.5 million. Interest rates will range
from 6.5 to 8%. This is the newest development in the
effort to create a municipal finance market in Bosnia .
The World Bank has an existing credit line for
small-scale municipal projects. The creation of lending
mechanisms to the public sector is critical as the
country rehabilitates its war-torn infrastructure -
particularly as Bosnia enters a new era in which the
international community is no longer willing to provide
large amounts of grant money.
World Bank Urban Infrastructure & Service
Delivery Project in B&H
Author: L.Bratic Published:
feb. 2006
The objectives of the
Urban Infrastructure and Services Delivery Project are
threefold: a) improve the availability, quality, and
reliability of basic municipal services, in particular,
water supply and sanitation; b) strengthen the ability
of cantonal, and municipal governments to improve
management, and institutional capacity for
infrastructure development through Urban Management
Development Plans, and, c) as possible, foster deeper
social cohesion, through improvements in living
conditions. Project components aim at: 1) supporting
financial management, and training to strengthen, and
build institutional capacity; drafting annual business
plans for each utility; training for the preparation of
Urban Management Development Plans. A study on the
institutional capacity and Government's role will focus
on appropriate capacity building; 2) financing the
preparation of Urban Management Development Plans in
selected areas, to identify priorities, improving
operations and maintenance, and maximizing investment
benefits. These Plans would analyze current operational
efficiency; detail existing maintenance; identify
physical assets to be rehabilitated; and, determine
service demands. Also financed will be investments in
selected service sectors; 3) financing least-cost
priority investments, based on system improvements,
lowering energy usage, including related investments to
water supply and sanitation utilities. The Utilities
will be grouped in three categories: Group A, will
consist of three Utilities that have undergone
financial, institutional, technical, environmental and
social work during project preparation; Group B
Utilities, will be expected to reach financial
viability, and cover all operation and maintenance
costs, by 2009; and, Group C would target areas lacking
social cohesion, or affected during the postwar period,
provided with small amounts of IDA credit, in addition
to grant financing from other donors; 4) financing the
planning and design, engineering for the preparation of
final designs and bidding documents, and, assistance
with procurement and supervision of construction for
investments; and, 5) financing incremental operating
costs, salaries, audits, as well as guidance and
training for Utilities and local governments on project
implementation. A stakeholder education campaign on
linkages between improved service and willingness to
pay, will be supported. More information at:
http://web.worldbank.org/
Austria to furnish €1.5 million for
development projects
Author: L.Bratic Published:
jan. 2006
AUSTRIA will spend
€1.5 million on joint, third-country projects in
2006-2008, under a Memorandum of Understanding
signed between the officials of the Slovak
Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Austrian
Development Agency (ADA) on January 25.
The scheme, agreed upon by Foreign Affairs
Ministry State Secretary József Berényi and ADA
executive director Michael Linhart in Bratislava
on January 25, will replace the one currently
winding down between Slovakia and the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA), the
TASR news wire reported.
The sum will cover projects in Africa (Kenya,
Mozambique) and the Western Balkans (Serbia &
Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The
cooperation timetable and guidelines are set for
completion in March so that joint activities
come on stream this spring.
The Austrian government formed the ADA two years
ago and is running 700 projects on a budget of
Sk80 million (€2.1 million), Linhart said.
Slovakia spends an annual Sk900 million (€23.8
million) or 0.08 percent of its GDP on
development aid, Berényi said. EU newcomers have
pledged to increase this aid to 0.17 percent
(0.33 percent for old members). According to
Berényi, the Slovak Foreign Ministry will
propose to parliament the setting up of a
national development agency modelled on the ADA
that could be launched this year.
Private financing: Dutch SNS REAAL Group
invests US$ 50 million in Water Fund
Author: L.Bratic Published:
19.12.2005
The Dutch SNS REAAL
Group has announced that it will invest US$ 50
million (EUR 41.6 million) in its new Water Fund.
Money will be invested in both national and
international projects dedicated to sustainability,
entrepreneurship and innovation in the field of
water control and water management.
The SNS REAAL
Group, a leading financial services provider for
retail and corporate customers, will gradually build
up the fund. The first two years will be used to
gather expertise and know-how, to build up a network
of experts and contacts with centres of excellence
in water and to seek cooperation with private
parties and government related bodies that are
involved in water. Within the next five years
investments in international water projects in
Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, will be targeting
drinking water supply, sanitation, water
purification and irrigation. The Fund will also
invest in Dutch small and medium sized companies
that are active in this field and stimulate
sustainability in the field of water.
Development
Marketplace Competition Puts Up $4 Million for
Innovative Ideas
The the
Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) Council meeting held on
8-10 November 2005 approved a comprehensive 7-year
project "Financing Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Investments for Climate Change Mitigation". The
project covers the following countries, all from the
MUNEE region: Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Macedonia,
Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Ukraine.
The new project is to support the development of a
US$250 million public-private equity fund that can
complement other financing schemes, including current
and planned GEF projects and, as a result, leverage an
investment volume of up to US$ 2 billion for energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects.
The outcome of the project will be solid investments
that could represent a reduction of GHG emissions of 10
million tones of CO2 per year, enhanced skills of
experts and policy reforms in participating countries
The
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be
the GEF Co-Implementing Agency together with an
international financial institution and the
UNECE is
the Executing Agency for the project. Part of a US$ 7.5
million funding from UNF, FFEM and GEF to the Energy
Efficiency 21 project will be used to structure the new
Investment Fund, examine legal and fiscal issues, and
solicit public and private sector investors who will
select an experienced Fund Manager. The investment fund
will not be managed by UNECE or UNEP but will be a
separate legal entity aligned with the Energy Efficiency
21 project.
SARAJEVO,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 31 2006 –
The World Bank invites all
interested BH organizations, associations and
institutions to submit their proposals for funding
through 2006 world-wide Development Marketplace (DM)
program. Under this program, the World Bank is offering
at least US$4 million for innovative, local projects
focused on unique solutions in improving water,
sanitation, and energy services for poor people. The
deadline for proposals expires on November 30, 2005.
The Development Marketplace started in 1998 as an
internal Bank competition to fund innovative ideas that
were not picked up through the usual funding system. It
has evolved into a global event that has awarded nearly
$25 million for more than 500 projects over the last six
years. Whether it’s conserving biodiversity through wood
sale auctions in Latvia, recycling discarded plastic
into usable objects in Burkina Faso, or developing
fly-fishing eco-tourism in Mongolia, the key word behind
the DM competition is innovation. One of the winners of
the 2005 global Development Marketplace competition was
an NGO from Travnik, which received funding for its
project utilizing previously unusable sheep’s wool for
isolation of houses. This year’s focus reflects World
Bank’s determination to support local ideas that improve
the lives of poor people. The
Development Marketplace 2006 is open to anyone – civil
society groups, social entrepreneurs, private
foundations, government agencies, academia and private
sector – with a brilliant but unusual idea that may not
get funded through traditional venues. The maximum award
will be US$200,000 per proposal. This year’s finalists
will be announced on February 15th, 2006, while the
Marketplace Competition & Knowledge Forum will take
place on May 8th & 9th, 2006
Proposals should be
submitted by November 30, 2005 on one of the
following sub-themes:
Service Delivery:
Sustainable delivery of water supply, sanitation,
and/or energy services to poor households
Environment:
Renewable energy, clean water technologies, energy
efficiency, and/or environmentally sustainable
sanitation solutions to poor households and to small
enterprises
Health:
Protecting health from environmental risk factors
(indoor air pollution, contaminated drinking water,
unsafe sanitation), including innovative programs
for hygiene promotion and behavioral change
Natural Resources:
Sustainable management of natural resources (land,
water, forest) specifically for the provision of
water supply, sanitation and energy to the poor
All additional information and
proposals can be sent through the Development
Marketplace website at
