To be eligible for funding, the demonstration projects must comply with the following criteria.
The project owner must:
- be a public organisation, owned by the state, region or municipality;
- have the required debt-servicing capacity;
- have the required resources to fund 15% of the total project cost;
- be able to provide a guarantee covering a loan of EUR 500,000;
- have the institutional capacity to prepare, plan and implement an internationally- financed capital investment project;
- accept and be prepared to apply state-of-the-art technology requirements and design principles and conduct procurements according to NEFCO Procurement Guidelines;
- be prepared to report to the funding agencies and disseminate information on results and achievements of the demonstration project.
The demonstration projects must:
- be built on well-known and proven district heating technology;
- be cost efficient;
- be affordable and not have negative impact on vulnerable consumers;
- increase energy efficiency, with minimum 30% reduction of energy consumption;
- be environmentally sustainable;
- be financially viable, with payback period for the total project cost of maximum eight (8) years;
- be innovative and have the potential to serve as a demonstration project and example of best practice, developed on the basis of state-of-the-art technology requirements and design principles;
- be replicable.
As of 2019, the DemoUkrainaDH programme is no longer inviting applications for new projects. Please read more about the programme’s contribution to the modernisation of district heating systems in several Ukrainian cities here.