Twenty Bulgarian municipalities are modernizing street lighting

The expected effect is a reduction in carbon emissions and lighting costs

Twenty Bulgarian municipalities will receive grants for rehabilitation and modernization of street lighting, it became clear earlier this week. They have won projects under the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Security program of the Financial Mechanism of European Economic Area (EEA Grants).

The implementation of the projects is expected to contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions, as well as energy consumption, which will reduce the costs in the municipal budgets for the coming years.

Millions of euros for energy efficiency

Sofia, Burgas, Malko Tarnovo, Varna, Targovishte, Pomorie, Lovech, Plovdiv, Vratsa, Kotel, Sredets, Velingrad, Sandanski, Tryavna, Haskovo, Apriltsi, Veliko Tarnovo, Smolyan, Kneja and Pazardzhik - the common denominator between these Bulgarian cities is that very soon they will enjoy modern and energy-efficient lighting in some public spaces.

Their project proposals were selected among 107 applications. The total value of the funding is over 9.2 million euros (of which 8.2 million in the form of grants), and each municipality will receive between 200 thousand and 600 thousand euros.

One of the first municipalities to share the good news is Plovdiv. The second-largest Bulgarian city will replace 1913 obsolete lighting fixtures with modern LED ones in the "Central" and "South" areas. Furthermore, it is planned to build a system for automated control and monitoring and the introduction of RES-based power supply for artificial outdoor lighting. For the implementation of the project activities, the Municipality of Plovdiv will partner up with a Norwegian organization, which will support with expertise and know-how.

Cooperation with a partner from one of the donor countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - is mandatory for the implementation of EEA-funded projects. The financial mechanism is targeted at countries whose gross national product per capita is below 90% of the EU average. The priorities of the Mechanism coincide with those of the EU for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.