Leova is the only District in the Republic of Moldova where bioenergy is supplied by a business operator. This is the outcome of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) pilot-model providing integrated bioenergy services, which was agreed by Leova District Council and “Green Farm” SRL in 2014. The private partner was designated following a tender conducted by the local public authorities. The PPP pilot-model was implemented upon the EU-UNDP Energy and Biomass Project-1 initiative.

Currently, 19 schools, kindergartens and the premises of Leova District Council have biomass heating systems installed, while the biofuel supply services as well as the heating plant operation and maintenance are provided by the private partner. The total investment amounted to EUR 800,000.

After having installed 19 new heating plants Leova has become the leading District by the number of biomass heating plants installed in public institutions. The heating plants overall capacity totals 4MW. ”The PPP Model ensured the provision of high quality energy services to District beneficiary schools and kindergartens. Children attend now heated premises where the indoor temperature meets the minimum health standards, and I have to confess this was not always the case during the previous years. It is a modern service that ensures the beneficiaries’ climatic conditions; besides, the managers of such institutions do not have to take care of biofuel procurement, checking for its quality, do not need to hire and train heating plant operators and manage/maintain properly the heating plants”,  Efrosinia Greţu, Leova District President stated at a Media Tour conducted today at the District public institutions that embarked in the PPP.

The Model launched for the first time in Leova District, upon the Energy and Biomass Project-1 initiative, is widely used in the EU Member States, where the business operator shall supply green energy, and the beneficiary shall pay the tariff for each Gigacalorie consumed.

”The PPP Model implemented in Leova has proved its viability. We have built 19 new heating plants, hired 42 operators and covered their salaries, and supplied biofuel during the whole heating season charging MDL 997 per each Gigacalorie, plus VAT”, Green-Farm Direct, Valeriu Pleşca, said. According to the Agreement, the heating plants shall be managed by the business operator for 11 years.

Please note that the first PPP-based biomass heat supply unit was launched in Leova District in May 2014. Leova District was selected as a pilot site following a public tender conducted with the involvement of 12 districts, which brought 15 project proposals.

”Launching and developing models for rendering integrated bioenergy services is a forward-looking sector for the Republic of Moldova. The Energy Efficiency Agency supports this sector development and suggests establishing an Expert Committee consisting of representatives of line ministries and organisations. The Expert Committee will be assigned the task to devise attractive and sustainable models for both the public and the private sectors based on Leova District gained experience”, Mihail Stratan, the Energy Efficiency Agency Director, mentioned. 

The Energy and Biomass Project-2 aims to develop new PPP Models in other seven Districts as well. “We shall launch a tender in the next few days to select the districts that are interested in implementing PPPs in their communities. Subsequently, the Expert Groups hired by the Project will prepare feasibility studies separately for each district to select the most suitable models for rendering bioenergy services by private entrepreneurs”, Alexandru Ursul, Manager of the Energy and Biomass Project, stated.

Moldova Energy and Biomass Project 2 is a three-year project implemented during 2015-2017. The Project budget totals EUR 9.41 million, provided by the EU, being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.