29.11.2017 | News
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and NEFCO have today signed an agreement to set up a trust fund that will provide financial support to energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects in Ukraine. The total value of the new trust fund is EUR 6 million.
The Finland Ukraine Trust Fund shall promote cooperation and identify projects in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy and alternative types of energy sources in power and heat generation as well as in district heating networks. Funding for technical assistance as well as grant support for demonstration projects to Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises for both private and public projects can also be provided from the trust fund.
“Finland is one of the leading experts in the world when it comes to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Through this cooperation, solutions by Finnish companies will help Ukraine in its Energy transition,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen.
“We are very pleased that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has chosen NEFCO as the Fund Manager of The Finland Ukraine Trust Fund and acknowledges our comprehensive and long knowledge of energy efficiency and environmental financing in Ukraine,” says NEFCO’s Managing Director Magnus Rystedt.
“We hope that the trust fund will provide new opportunities for Finnish companies and other stakeholders to present new energy-related innovative solutions to the Ukrainian energy sector,” says Senior Investment Manager Helena Lähteenmäki at NEFCO.
The main coordinator in Ukraine is the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving (SAEE), which will propose possible projects for implementation. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SAEE at the beginning of the year aiming to strengthen the cooperation between Finland and Ukraine.
Ukraine is one of the most energy-intensive countries per capita in the world and requires substantial investments to modernise its infrastructure, and increase its energy efficiency as well as its utilisation of renewable energy sources aimed at saving conventional fuel and energy resources and improving environmental conditions. The share of renewables of the final energy consumption in Ukraine is expected to increase from about 7 per cent in 2016 up to 11 per cent by 2020. Key areas of renewable energy sources in Ukraine are wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and environmental energy using heat pumps.
The new trust fund is a continuation of the fruitful cooperation that NEFCO and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland started in 2014 with the Finnish trust fund for the Nordic Energy Efficiency and Humanitarian Support Initiative for Ukraine (NIU). An initiative that was signed by all the Nordic Ministers for Foreign Affairs in connection with the Nordic Council Session in October 2014.
NEFCO has financed municipal projects in Ukraine since 2010 and currently has some 150 ongoing projects in the country, of which approx. 100 are within the municipal sector. The current portfolio consists of projects related to energy efficiency, renewable energy and wastewater treatment.
For further information please contact:
Helena Lähteenmäki
Senior Investment Manager at NEFCO
+358 10 6180 633
helena.lahteenmaki [at] nefco.fi
Juhani Toivonen
Senior Adviser, development policy issues, at
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
+358 295 350 898
Juhani.Toivonen [at] formin.fi (Juhani.Toivonen [at] formin.fi)