Polish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility Wins Clean Energy Award

July 05, 2016

A DAI-led project that provides credit to hundreds of small businesses in Poland to improve energy efficiency was recently honored with the Financing Deal of the Year award at the 2016 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Clean Energy Awards. The Polish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (PolSEFF), funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), was named over three other finalists in the category, including DNB Bank Polska SA, Energix Renewable Energies Ltd, and the EU Connect Europe Facility. Accepting the award on behalf of PolSEFF was Anna Chmielewska, Principal Banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (pictured).

PolSEFF partnered with five major financial institutions in Poland to set up specialized loans that enable small and medium-sized businesses to purchase energy efficient equipment and renewable energy systems. The EBRD provided the facility with a credit line of up to €200 million, which has been used to finance more than 2,000 projects at nearly 1,900 small firms so far. The projects range from improving heating and cooling systems to installing solar thermal collectors to more purchasing more efficient manufacturing machines. These efficiency upgrades, which would have been inaccessible for many small businesses without PolSEFF’s targeted loans, have resulted in a countrywide energy savings equivalent to that consumed by 44,000 Polish households per year, while cutting 50,000 cars worth of annual carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.

The CEE Clean Energy Awards recognize companies and individuals in central and eastern Europe’s clean energy sector for excellence in operations, strategy, and leadership. The event brought together more than 250 clean energy executives and investors from across Europe and the United States and handed out awards in 19 categories.

DAI and the EBRD recently launched the Polish Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (Poland REFF). Poland REFF will facilitate loans to homeowners and landlords to upgrade to their heating, air conditioning, and electric systems to improve efficiency and reduce energy costs and emissions in the residential sector. DAI has led similar energy efficiency financing projects in the Morocco Sustainable Energy Financing Facility and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Credit Line Support in Bulgaria.