The Sofia Municipality is launching its second project for homes to replace polluting stoves and heaters with cleaner devices. The budget is EUR 37.6 million, covered mostly from European funds.
Starting next month, residents in Sofia will apply for free air conditioners, air-to-water or water-to-water heat pumps, pellet boilers or the connection or reconnection to the Toplofkatsiya municipal utility’s district heating network. It is the Bulgarian capital city’s second project for the replacement of polluting heating devices in homes.
Domestic heating is one of the largest sources of fine particulate matter of the PM10 type. It has a share of 55% to 60% of total air pollution, Capital noted in a report on the public call.
The project is worth EUR 37.6 million, of which EUR 32 million is from the European Union’s Programme Environment 2021-2027, and the rest national cofinancing.
Local authority covering all costs, including delivery, installation, warranty
The funds for Sofia dwellers include costs for the dismantling and recycling of old devices, delivery and installation of the equipment, a two-year warranty and a technical inspection.
Households can get up to three air conditioners
Applicants need to own over 50% of the home and not be behind in paying taxes. When a request is approved, technicians determine the most suitable devices and the number of devices. Households in certain social categories have the option to install a photovoltaic system if the structure is suitable, under a pilot scheme.
In the first round, 21,000 devices burning solid fossil fuel were replaced in 11,000 households. The Sofia Municipality’s current budget is for an estimated 10,815 homes and 16,000 devices. It translates to 222.8 tons of PM10 per year.
The news outlet pointed out that 32,000 households use wood and coal for heating.
Air conditioners most popular
Officials expect the installation of the new appliances to begin in May. Nevertheless, some beneficiaries can request to replace their devices already during this season.
Marin Marinov, head of climate, energy and air in the Sofia Municipality, estimated that the greatest interest would be for air conditioners. Up to three can be installed per household.
There are 20 other municipalities within the overarching scheme for air quality. Pazardzhik is entitled to EUR 25 million, the most after Sofia, but so far only EUR 6 million has been paid out.
In Plovdiv, there were 3,169 beneficiaries of the first stage. The second one, worth 14.3 million, is for 4,000 households. Together they make up 41% of the 17,000 households in total that are heated with solid fuel.
The project lasts until May 2029, the year when Sofia is set to ban the use of solid fuels for heating. Currently they are illegal in the central districts of Sredets, Krasno Selo, Izgrev, Ilinden, Studentski, Oborishte, Vazrazhdane, Lozenets, Triaditsa.
Six offices will receive applications: in Krasna Polyana, Mladost, Studentski, Nadezhda, Izgrev and Serdika (Serdica).
