The Podlaskie Region is located in the north-eastern part of the country, in the geographical centre of Europe. The seat of the voivodship authorities is Białystok. As at 30 June 2016, the region had 1.2 million inhabitants. There are 191 826 buildings in the region where 72 536 in municipalities and 119 290 in rural areas. Almost 40% of total building stock was built in years 1945-1970, as for 2012 there were 1160 public buildings in the region.
With regards to the public buildings Podlasie region in 2018 had a call for thermomodernization of public owned, communal and religious buildings.
More than 50 projects for energy efficiency investments were chosen for realisation. Nevertheless, the needs of this market are much bigger – there are over 1,160 public buildings in the region – excluding communal and religious, where most of them are in the rural area with limited access to the information and support.
As for the multifamily buildings, it is necessary to reach out with financial instruments to urban-rural parts/countryside’s of the region, where the level of thermomodernization of buildings is very low. Another area where support is needed is the SME segment. In latest programme operated by Podlaska Fundacja Rozwoju Regionalnego loans were given to 30 SMEs totally amounting to 14 Million PLN. Due to a high demand, this programme was renewed with a budget of 8 Million PLN. Looking at the total amount of SME’s in the region which is 49,440 the potential of improving energy efficiency is high and not enough explored.
Narodowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. (National Energy Conservation Agency) was established in 1994 in Warsaw, Poland, to promote energy-saving investments and rational use of energy, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.
The main area of our activity is the building sector.We specialize in energy consulting, developing audits and energy performance certificates for buildings. NAPE is one of the few companies in Poland issuing energy performance certificates for buildings equipped with advanced technical systems, as well as for public buildings. We conduct trainings and publish manuals for energy auditors, spreadsheets for preparing audits and educational materials.
We also implement international projects related to the energy efficiency of buildings, financing their modernization, the use of renewable energy sources and polygeneration, promotion of energy efficiency, integrated energy design and modern heating, cooling and ventilation technologies.
We prepare applications for subsidies from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, European Funds and thermo-modernization bonuses from banks. NAPE also acts as a verifier in the Polish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility for small and medium-sized enterprises PolSEFF. We also verify projects financed by the European Investment Bank.
We cooperate with the Energy Conservation Foundation, the Association of Energy Auditors, the Warsaw University of Technology, regional energy conservation agencies, government and local government bodies, non-governmental organizations, banks financing energy-saving investments and renewable energy sources, and many foreign partners. We are also a founding member of the National Association “Respect for Energy and the Environment” (SAPE-POLSKA).