Second Quarterly Progress Report: Enterprise Energy Efficiency (3E)

The project aimed to support the development of initiatives and technologies to improve energy efficiency in the country. The project was implemented by Advanced Engineering Associates International, Inc. (AEAI) and was managed by the Economic Restructuring Office of USAID. During the second quarter of 2010, the 3E project focused on selecting the first pilot project. After reviewing three proposals, the Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Sarajevo (MEF) building was chosen and approved as the first pilot project by USAID on July 21, 2010. The project team prepared a draft of the Letter of Commitment for the MEF Pilot Project to be signed between the project partners USAID 3E, UNDP BiH, and MEF Sarajevo in October. The project team also organized a Roundtable for banks from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to discuss the challenges of financing energy efficiency projects. The Roundtable gathered representatives of BiH banks to discuss the roles that banks have in market development in the field of energy efficiency through the offer of specific loan arrangements, also called Green or EE loans. The following banks attended the 3E Roundtable: Raiffeisen bank, Volks Bank, Unicredit Bank, Intesa SanPaolo Bank, Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, Sparkasse Bank, Turkish Ziraat Bank, Nova Banka, NLB Razvojna Banka, and ProCredit Bank. The project team also conducted a site visit of the MEF premises to examine the facilities where the Monitoring and Verification (M&V) system would be installed to monitor energy consumption. A Request for Offer (RFO) was prepared and sent out to seven companies to determine the equipment and measurements needed for the M&V system. The companies were Electra Sarajevo, VmS Group Sarajevo, Energoinvest SUE Sarajevo, Elcom Tuzla, Alfatherm Mostar, Grijanjeinvest Pale, and Emtelektro Brcko. In addition, the project team held a training for Raiffeisen Bank (RBA) staff on the topic "Challenges of Financing Energy Efficiency Projects." The presentation for the Roundtable for Banks in BiH was prepared, and a Press Release was prepared and approved by USAID and distributed to the media after the event. The training was moderated by the USAID 3E Chief of Party, and the employees from the Public Sector (PS) and from PS subsector, as well as the account managers from each RBA business center in BiH participated in the training. The project team also made progress on the development of the 3E website, which is planned to be active in early October. The website will provide information on the project's activities, progress, and results. The project team also had numerous meetings with UNDP BiH, GTZ, SUISSE CARITAS, and others seeking to find ways of mutual collaboration on pilot projects, workshops, and other activities. The project's progress was monitored and evaluated through the Performance-Based Monitoring Plan (PBMP), which was developed to track the project's progress against its objectives and indicators. The PBMP was used to identify areas where the project needed to improve its performance and to make adjustments to the project's implementation plan as needed. Overall, the 3E project made significant progress during the second quarter of 2010, with the selection of the first pilot project, the organization of the Roundtable for banks, and the development of the M&V system. The project team also made progress on the development of the 3E website and had numerous meetings with other stakeholders to seek collaboration and support for the project's activities.