Feștelița, r. Ștefan Vodă, has become the first energy-intelligent locality in the Republic of Moldova, with the support of the European Union. Thus, the community benefits of an additional source of income for the local people. The inauguration event of the Centre of Excellence in Energy Efficiency took place in the context of European Climate Diplomacy Week and European Sustainable Energy Week 2021.
The Centre of Excellence in Energy Efficiency in the locality of Feștelița, launched on 13 October 2021, created with the financial support of the European Union, is the only one in the Republic of Moldova. The centre consists of 10 types of demonstration sub-projects in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy: smart street lighting, photovoltaic park, on-grid panels, biomass-based boiler rooms, solar collectors. Such type of flagship project contributes to building a secure energy future and similar achievements are part of the top agenda of the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), which take place annually all over Europe. Moreover, current year activities of EUSEW take place under the theme ‘Towards 2030: Reshaping the European Energy System’.
The total cost of the project is 800,000 euro, of which 500,000 euros is a grant offered by the European Union, and 300,000 euro was the national and local contribution through the Energy Efficiency Agency, Ştefan Vodă District Council, Feşteliţa Local Public Administration and people in the Feștelița village. These investments contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, by 465 tons / year, which is 52% less compared to 2011. This official commitment made to the Convention of Mayors for Climate and Energy, signed in 2013, was honoured by the village Feşteliţa.
”The creation of the Centre for Excellence on Energy Efficiency in Festelita village, with the support of the European Union, is an outstanding example of combining energy efficiency and green renewable energy locally produced. This integrated approach showcases the benefits of engaging with a green transition, which will ensure better quality of life for the citizens, more resources available for the local budget and at the same time will help addressing climate change and energy security. This initiative is also attracting further investments from international partners, such as Nordic Environment Finance Corporation or Global Environment Facility. We are glad to see that the support of the European Union created the opportunity for such a successful initiative”, said Jānis Mažeiks, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova.
The centre represents, at the country level, a model for exchange of good practices in this field. Thus, with the financial support of the European Union, Feștelița became the first smart energy village in the country, with 4 buildings of local public institutions corresponding to the nZEB label (buildings with almost zero energy consumption), and Feștelița mayoralty – the first local public authority which manages a photovoltaic park. All of the 3,000 locals in Feștelița enjoy better conditions for living, education and work.
The community annually produces electricity of about 384 MWh / year and records energy savings of about 647h MW / year and over 1,000,000 lei, as profit in the local budget. Thanks to the European Union, the village of Feşteliţa obtains an additional source of income from which the local population of Feştelița benefits.
The mayor of Feşteliţa, Nicolae Tudoreanu, mentioned: “Excellence in Energy Efficiency – this is what we wanted to achieve in Feşteliţa and to prove that it can be possible in the villages of the Republic of Moldova. Together with the community, we overcame the existing stereotypes and with the financial support of the European Union, Feşteliţa village switched to eco energy. At first glance, it seemed a difficult goal to achieve, but not for us.”
The guests and participants at the inauguration event visited various types of state-of-the-art energy efficiency infrastructure implemented in Feşteliţa, namely within the premises of the mayor’s office, kindergarten, gymnasium and the local centre of culture, benefiting the population of the village.
The Centre of Excellence from the village of Feștelița, in Ștefan Vodă district, was created within the project “Creation of the centre of excellence by piloting new technologies demonstrating energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in the village of Feștelița”. The project is implemented by Feşteliţa mayoralty, in partnership with the Public Association ‘Social Innovation Fund of Moldova’, with the financial support of the European Union, within the Programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects”.