The production of renewable energy in the Republic of Moldova increased from 4% of the energy production in 2010 to almost 15% in 2017. The rise is mainly due to the financial support provided by the EU through the Energy and Biomass Project that is to be completed this year, IPN reports.

In a press club meeting on April 28, Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac said 200 million lei will be allocated from the state budget next year for implementing energy efficiency projects. This is by 100 million lei more than this year. The authorities will increase investments in energy efficiency projects because the European financing offered during the last seven years showed these bring many advantages to the national economy.

Octavian Calmac said a number of external projects of the kind will be attracted to the national economy next year. The Energy and Biomass Project launched in 2010 allowed developing the biomass sector in Moldova, which already brings benefits to the national economy. “Following the implementation of European technologies, we see numerous advantages at a distance of seven years, with the lower energy consumption being one of these,” stated the minister.

The project will be finished in December 2017. Within this, the approximately 100 biofuel companies have already generated over 300 new jobs in Moldova and thousands of domestic consumers installed biomass heating systems. Such systems were also set up in almost 200 public and private institutions.

The Energy and Biomass Project, the second stage, is a three-year project implemented throughout the period 2015-2017. The Project has a budget of €9.41 million allocated by the European Union and it is implemented by the United Nations Development Program. It follows up the first stage of the project, implemented in 2011-2014, with a total budget of  €14.56 million, provided by the European Union (€14 million) and the UNDP (€560 000).