Sharing of good practices at the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency

Thanks to the financial support of the European Union, in 2021 the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency (CEEE) from Feștelița village becomes functional! This is a unique model for combining the efforts of different donors in the field of Energy Efficiency (EE) in the Republic of Moldova and its mission is to record, monitor and disseminate at national level the results and benefits obtained by the community in the field of EE, following the implementation of 10 infrastructure subprojects, namely:

1. Construction of the photovoltaic park (312kWh, 1000 panels X 400W);

2. Construction of 3 on-grid photovoltaic systems at kindergarten, gymnasium, city hall (cumulative 40kWh);

3. Construction of 4 biomass-based boilers at the kindergarten, gymnasium, city hall, culture house (cumulative 561 kW);

4. Equipping the kindergarten with a system of solar panels for domestic hot water heating;

5. Construction of public street lighting and intelligent monitoring & management system STAGE I (265 LEDs installed on 10.5 km of network);

6. Energy efficiency of the city hall through thermal insulation and application of EE technologies (claimant to the nZEB labeling – building with energy consumption almost equal to zero);

7. Planting short rotation energy crops (5 ha);
8. Construction of the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency meetings’ room;

9. Creation of the ECO Recycling Center and its endowment with sewing equipment, for the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic;

10. Creation of the ECO Educational Center for kindergarten and its endowment with computers.

The CEEE, as a replication model, is addressed to all local public authorities in the country, but also to private organisations, which want to implement EE improvement projects based on the exchange of good practices or to promote their activities in an efficient and transparent way in the given field.

Located inside the city hall, the CEEE has a spacious, well-appointed room, equipped with high-performance furniture and monitoring equipment, which records and displays live on the screen all the data regarding the performance of EE installations in the community, the final

energy product, consumption, savings and environmental benefits. Figures and real results that can be used by LPAs or experts in seminars, meetings, study visits. It should be mentioned that the CEEE hall has a multifunctional purpose and can serve as a hall for festive ceremonies or meetings for the community.

The total cost of the project is 800,000 EUR, of which 500,000 EUR represents the EU Grant and 300,000 EUR – national and local contributions (Agency for Energy Efficiency, LPA of Feștelița village, Ștefan-Vodă District Council, population of Feștelița village).

Additionally, as an added value to the mentioned project, the implementation team of the PA Social Innovation Fund of Moldova NGO and Feștelița City Hall, managed to implement 3 other important sub-projects with a cumulative cost of over 250,000 EUR, namely:

1. Extension of the public street lighting network and the STAGE II intelligent monitoring & guidance system (300 LEDs installed over 12 km of the network) with the financial support of the Nordic Environment

Finance Corporation (NEFCO). Total cost is 125,000 EUR, of which 112,000 EUR

represents the NEFCO Loan;

2. Energy efficiency of Feștelița gymnasium through thermal insulation of the building, with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF UNDP Moldova). Total cost is 65,600 EUR, of which 42,200 EUR represents the GEF Grant;

3. Renovation of the gym, locker rooms, canteen (which is also a party hall), construction of toilets with modern showers in the gymnasium of Feștelița village, with the financial support of USAID in the value of 60,000 EUR as Grant. Thus, the implementation team of the PA Social

Innovation Fund of Moldova NGO and the City Hall of Feștelița demonstrated in practice:

1. Each EUR invested by the European Union in community development generates proportionate additional investments (co- financing) from other donors. Thus, during the period of 2018-2021, Feștelița benefited from investments amounting to about 1 million EUR, of which cca 50% represents an EU grant;

2. The synergy of several international, national and local donors for solving

community infrastructure problems is a functional one (European Union + Agency for Energy Efficiency + LPA of Feștelița village + Ștefan-Vodă District Council + population of

Feștelița village + NEFCO + GEF UNDP Moldova + USAID);

3. The methodology for co-opting different financial instruments, such as Grant + Credit + National / Local Contribution, is a modern solution for sustainable community development.

The above-mentioned approach made it possible to achieve the overall objective of the project to contribute to the implementation of sustainable local energy policy in Feștelița village under the Covenant of Mayors, thus addressing energy security, energy saving, energy efficiency and CO2 reduction.