Victor Chironda is proposing a municipal program to install solar panels on the rooftops of old buildings and public establishments in Chisinau. The mayoral contender told a press conference today this would not just cut electricity cost, but also increase the comfort of people residing in old buildings.

“More than a third of Chisinau residents live in old buildings. Their rundown condition affects the lives of tens of thousands of people, who cannot afford to repair them or give them a thermal insulation upgrade”, said Victor Chironda.

The candidate – who is formally running on behalf of the Noua Forta party, but is labeling himself an independent – says the repair and and thermal insulation of old buildings is one of the seven top priorities of his team. The program is intended to be implemented under a co-financing scheme.

Joining Chirionda’s team as a City Council candidate, energy policy expert Sergiu  Tofilat told the same press conference the program could be implemented in several steps: “The first is to modernize the heating system by shifting to (the more energy-efficient) horizontal distribution. Second, we need to install heating distribution points in the basements of apartment buildings and to improve their thermal insulation.” The measures would enable every consumer to control the temperature in his or her apartment and be charged based on more accurate individual meters.

Evgheni Camenșcic, another municipal councilor contender on Chironda’s team, says the proposed program to improve old buildings’ energy efficiency could be financed by seeking European and other international donor funding. “The Paris Agreement was signed in 2016. There in Paris, the conclusion has been reached that investing massively in energy efficiency is key. Beginning with 2020, nearly 10 billion euros will become available to fund such measures. We just need to create capacities to attract such kind of investment.”

Camenșcic added that one first step would be to join the European Covenant of Mayors movement, whose membership opens up various funding opportunities.