AEA Technologies
Case Study
Technical Assistance to the Polish Government's "Thermo-Modernisation Fund" 2000 - 2002.
The British Government through the Department for International Development (DIFD) provided technical assistance to Polish Government's Energy Efficiency Fund for a demonstration project involving the Thermal Modernisation of Buildings.
In 1999, the Polish Government started an Energy Efficiency Fund, one of the objectives of this fund was to provide grants to local governments and housing associations to encourage them to apply thermal insulation to outside of apartment blocks.
The Fund was not well utilised in the beginning because of number of factors, including; high interest rates, a very bureaucratic procedure in the administration of the Fund, a reluctance among potential recipients to take out bank loans and poor publicity.
The project was managed by the UK consultancy AEA Technology Ltd and Alan Stretton acted as in country project manager and advisor. Other Polish partners included the Polish National Energy Efficiency Agency ( KAPE ), Egoterm, and the City of Tarnow Housing Department. The Energy Efficiency Fund was managed on behalf of the Polish Government by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK ).
AEA Technologies and KAPE provided assistance in planning and execution of an application to the "Thermo-Modernisation Fund" for Tarnow City Housing Department. This was the first time any local authority had made an application to the fund.
The project management team, headed by Alan Stretton in Poland assisted all stages of the application and execution of the project whilst analysing the procedures to provide advice at the end of the project on how to encourage a better take up of the fund.
The fund, as first designed offered very little real financial incentives for potential applicants. Initially a "grant of 25%" of the total cost of any thermal renovation work was offered. The grant was paid at the end of the works. The procedures required that the applicant took out a bank loan from an approved bank to cover the cost of the whole project. At the time of the project the interest rates offered by the banks was 18%.
The project was successfully carried out, thermal insulation of 3 apartment blocks was carried out in Tarnow. The procedures were analysed, promotional material was produced and a conference was held in which recommendation were submitted to the Polish Government for better management of the programme.