Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan held a presentation of a pilot project to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency improvements to public buildings in Astana on September 6.

A joint pilot project at School No. 25 in the capital was completed by the Kazakh government, jointly with the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Kazakhstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The project is aimed at significantly reducing the school's annual budget for heating and electricity and regulating temperatures in the building, making the learning environment more comfortable for students and staff.

This is important in view of rising energy costs and the limited capacity of Astana's municipal heating networks. Also, the increased energy efficiency of the building will help to lower emissions of greenhouse gases.

The project grant was signed at School No. 25 during the 2011 EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Astana.

Teaming up with the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), the Bank provided a €160,000 grant for the energy efficiency measures at the school.

"In addition to offsetting carbon emissions, we wanted to demonstrate that investment in energy efficiency is not just good for the environment, but makes good financial sense. The school will save a lot of money on its energy bills - not to mention warmer, more comfortable rooms for the students," Janet Heckman, the EBRD Director for Kazakhstan, said.

The UNDP supervised contractors, carried out the quality assurance of works and assisted the school as it commissioned further maintenance measures for the new equipment installed.

The UNDP-EBRD project helped the school to replace its windows and install a modern heating system. As a result of these works, thermal energy consumption is expected to fall by 32-37 percent per year, and CO2 emissions by 150-200 tons per year.

Furthermore, automation of the heating system will reduce running costs and extend the life of the school building.

The UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, it offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

Since the beginning of its operations in Kazakhstan, the EBRD has invested around $6.5 billion in the country's economy, with more than half of the bank's projects supporting the private sector.