23-06-2011. Source: ENPI info centre

The Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC) has organised a workshop on the National Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Action Initiative (NEEREA) and other financing mechanisms to support investments in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energies, in the framework of the EU-funded project “EU Support to the LCEC”.

A Delegation press release said the project, aiming to develop and institutionalise the national efforts in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green buildings sectors, provides legislative, financial and technical support to LCEC through a team of experts funded by a budget of €500,000 in order to enable it to strengthen its position as the national energy agency for Lebanon.

In addition to the EU support to the LCEC and in the frame of the NEEREA initiative, the EU supports local Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) willing to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects by providing them subsidies of €12.2 million, channeled through the Central Bank of Lebanon and with a guarantee scheme through its provision of a €2.5 million grant to Kafalat.

The workshop gathered participants from the different sectors of the economy, including representatives from the Central Bank of Lebanon, private banks, EU-funded projects, as well as representatives of the private sector and active NGOs in the country. It included presentations and interventions by national experts with the purpose to clearly explain the procedure to follow in order to benefit from the subsidies of the Central Bank of Lebanon.

“We see this initiative as a pilot experience to demonstrate that the sector of energy efficiency and renewable energy has a high potential and deserves attention not only from policy-makers but also from the banks”, said the Head of the EU Delegation to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst. “We hope to see a growing number of demands for this European Union subsidy and we look forward to seeing this initiative contribute efficiently to the growth of the Lebanese SMEs, to the creation of more jobs, to the decrease of the dependency on imported sources of energy and to a better state of the environment in your country.”