UNDP to support municipalities with TA and training in energy management and biomass utilization

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Serbia has invited applications for technical assistance and training for local authorities in introducing energy management systems and the use of biomass for power production. The public call says that all municipalities with populations of 20,000 to 40,000 can apply for assistance but does not specify how many municipalities will be included in the project.

The UNDP advertisement said that one of the goals of the project is for municipalities to use locally available raw materials to produce energy from biomass.

The UNDP advertisement specifies that offers can be made for technical assistance in drafting annual reports on efforts to reach energy savings targets which local authorities are obliged to do under the Serbian regulations which came into effect in April 2016.

Technical assistance will be provided in drafting energy efficiency programs in local communities under the law on efficient energy use of 2013 and analyzing available resources and the use of locally available biomass.

Local communities will receive training in the use of energy management information systems (EMIS) in public buildings and assistance in making inventories of heating boilers in public buildings.

Applications are also invited for training in project financing for biomass energy generation in agriculture holdings with focus on European Union pre-accession assistance mechanisms for rural development.

The UNDP also called for applications to provide training on the farming of energy crops.

The UNDP advertisement does not specify the budget for all the training and assistance required for local authorities across Serbia. It says that hardcopy applications must be submitted in sealed envelopes to the UNDP office in Belgrade by September 18, 2017.

The UNDP has been active in Yugoslavia and Serbia since 1952 and has been providing support for sustainable development in post-conflict recovery efforts and Serbia’s efforts to become a member of the European Union since the year 2000.