Rhodope Region

Rhodope region consist mostly of small-sized municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants. They lack resources to invest in energy efficiency and capacity to plan and launch large-scale retrofits. Critical stock size to attract large-scale investments is not clustered yet, and the ESCO market is still underdeveloped.

Although joint financing initiatives between municipalities are not a usual practice in Bulgaria, Association of Rhodope Municipalities plays a role in coordinating actions within 21 municipalities of the region. Energy efficiency in public buildings, and especially in educational facilities, is a priority to the local authorities in Rhodope. Some projects have already been implemented but further development and more financing are necessary.

In Rhodope region, 147 municipal buildings have been identified for refurbishments but due to lack of funding, projects have not started yet. CITYnvest activities play a role in advancing those planned retrofits by providing local authorities with knowledge on innovative financing and supporting establishment of a dedicated structure, which will bundle and facilitate investments.

For more information, see the results of investigation on energy efficiency initiatives and the Action Plan for Rhodope Region.