One Euro invested in the Energy Efficiency will result in energy saving approximating to 4 kWh.

The Bulgarian Energy Sector needs investments amounting to 2.5 billion Bulgarian lev to reduce the energy consumption in Bulgaria by 25% until 2020. This was said by Andrea Casini, Chief Operating Officer of UniCredit Bulbank, on the forum entitled “Energy and Efficiency in Bulgaria: the Italian Know-How in favour of Growth”, which was held during the International Plovdiv Fair.

In his opinion, with proper investments and measures undertaken towards achieving energy efficiency, the Bulgarian business will reduce its energy consumption by 700 million Bulgarian lev annually. The calculations of the experts prove that one euro invested in the energy efficiency will result in energy saving approximating to 4 kWh. In this way energy saving technologies can be seen as attractive investments, which pay off within less than 5 years.

Thanks to its solid and successful partnerships with multinational financial institutions, among which – the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), UniCredit Bulbank has concluded agreements for various credit facilities, specialized in the field of investments in sustainable development.

For example, the Bank is one of the six financial institutions in Bulgaria, which has signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under the “Energy Efficiency and Green Economy” Programme for servicing a credit line amounting to 150 million euro.

So far, through UniCredit Bulbank the full contractual amount of 10 million euro was utilized by small and medium enterprises under this programme. The Bank has also provided loans to the amount of 61 million euro for energy efficiency, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the last seven years.

“Despite the slowdown in GDP growth in the last few months, it is unlikely to see the economy go in recession again” – also said Andrea Casini on the forum.

The expectations of the economic team of UniCredit Bulbank are for a GDP growth of 0.5% for 2013, which will gradually speed up to 1.3% in 2014. He also added that the economic team of the bank expects that individual consumption will have a modest, but still positive contribution to the GDP growth by the end of this year and for the greater part of the next year.

The export data is also positive after its increase of 20.7% recorded in the second quarter of this year, in comparison with the figures five years ago. However, GDP growth as to the end of July 2013 decreased by 0.2% year-on-year.

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