Brussels, 05/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 5 November, the EBRD launched its second Polish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (PolSEFF2) with a volume of €200 million which will be on-lent via local banks, such as BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA, to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The loans will finance investments to replace or upgrade heating, cooling, electric and related systems in order to lower companies' energy bills and decrease carbon emissions. The framework will be complemented by investment grants worth €14.2 million provided by the Polish National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and technical cooperation provided by the European Commission.
To date, the EBRD - with financial support from the European Commission - has financed more than 2,000 energy efficiency projects in Polish SMEs worth more than €190 million, resulting in total annual energy savings of 342 GWh and total emission reduction of 102,000 tonnes of CO2. (EH)