Eligibility Requirements

To receive financing under the BEERECL businesses had to meet the following eligibility criteria.

General Eligibility Requirements

Eligible projects were those investments made by private entities either on the energy demand or generation side. The investments had to contribute to improving the energy performance of Bulgaria’s industrial sector. The loan could be used for a ‘stand alone’ project or as part of a larger investment.
The consultant was available to help businesses assess their project's energy savings and internal rate of return (IRR) eligibility requirements, which were as follows:

• For energy efficiency projects, the energy savings, expressed as an Industry Sector Indicator (ISI) had to be greater than 0.20
• For energy efficiency or renewable energy projects, the minimum Internal Rate of Return (IRR) had to be at least 10% unless otherwise agreed by the EBRD and the Participating Bank.

Project and client eligibility was checked during the first steps of the application process  see more

Examples of Eligible Projects

Industrial energy efficiency, such as:

• Rehabilitating and/or replacing old boilers
• Fuel switching
• Heat and steam recovery
• Upgrading or replacing equipment
• Process optimization, enhanced controls and automation systems
• On-site co-generation of heat and electricity

Renewable energy, such as:

• Wind turbines
• Run-of-river hydro power
• Biomass heating
• Solar hot water heating
• Solar photovoltaic
• Biogas fired combined heat and power

Loans could not be used for:

• Investing in new buildings that are already subject to energy efficiency standards set at the country level
• Investing in real estate solely with the aim of making short or medium term profit on sales
• Financing land purchases
• Refinancing of a business’ pre-existing debt

Projects in Natura 2000 sites were not always eligible for BEERECL funding.

All investments had to comply with the EBRD environmental policy “Environmental Exclusion and Referral list”