Will the new rehabilitation program for renovating properties in Bulgaria succeed?
For financing, ways should be used to attract business and the financial sector to self-participation by home owners, believes Mincho Benov
“The state of the housing stock from the point of view of energy performance is extremely bad according to the estimates of the World Bank and the Center for Territorial Development. 93% of the housing stock is energy inefficient and in need of renovation,” he pointed out.
Benov insists on trying to involve both business and the financial sector in this process, and believes that this is only possible if there is self-participation from the homeowners.
“Such programs can use financial incentives for people who cannot afford to set aside funds, interest-free loans, even one-time grants, so that consumers are not an obstacle to the process of increasing energy efficiency,” commented the expert.
In addition to various programs for energy efficiency of homes, available to different social groups, Mincho Benov insists that there should also be clarity about their action in the long term for several decades, in order to be able to plan.
“At this stage, the only thing we expect is financing of BGN 1.129 billion, which will be enough to renovate about a thousand homes. There are 66,000 multi-family properties in need of renovation, while over 2,000 were renovated under the previous program. There is not a single penny of financing for single-family homes, which are 50% of the housing stock,” says the expert.
Benov explains that in the previous program the properties were renovated to class C, which means around 40% savings in energy costs, and the goals of this program is to achieve a higher class B.
“When we run a program like this, we have to aim for a deep start to renewal,” he said, and he believes it should be tied to funding to address the problem, not just reporting some activity. the national director of Habitat Bulgaria.
How, with the energy efficiency program, Slovakia manages to renovate over 90% of multi-family residential buildings? Where will it rank in Bulgaria’s energy poverty ranking? What is the definition of energy poverty and with what reforms will implementation be linked? Which country will not have a long-term vision for remediation? Will there be incentives for investments in energy efficiency? What are the obstacles before the use of photovoltaics in residential buildings, you can find out if you watch video material on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
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