On September 18–24, 2016, representatives from the Ukrainian State Agency for Energy Efficiency and the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry visited Slovakia. They spent a week meeting their counterparts, having discussions and touring successful energy-efficiency projects.

The main expert and project manager made an opening statement, then they outlined the program to participants, providing information on the institutions and projects to be visited, the basic situation in Slovakia and logistical arrangements.

On Monday (September 19, 2016), a working program was organized at the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA). Representatives from the Ukrainian delegation discussed various issues with the SIEA. SIEA leaders made the opening remarks and spoke about the agency’s history, role and the work it performs. The rest of the speakers then gave presentations on Slovak experiences of raising public awareness, energy efficiency legislation (particularly relating to buildings), the use of renewables and related support programs, energy efficiency monitoring tools and also experience and new methods. In addition, the representative from the State Housing Development Fund presented financial mechanism for building insulation support and the ways funds can be obtained in Slovakia.

Tuesday (September 20, 2016) begun with the field trip, co-organized in conjunction with the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA), looking at the reconstruction and revitalization of public buildings funded through state schemes for energy efficiency projects. During the trip, the Ukrainian delegation visited the villages of Rišňovce and Ružindol, toured buildings and discussed technical and financial aspects of reconstruction. The second half of the day, at the Building Testing and Research Institute (TSUS), was devoted to the energy certification of buildings and the construction of energy efficient buildings. This was followed by a visit to the TSUS testing base and then on to a pilot project involving the complex reconstruction of an apartment building in the Devínska Nová Ves area of Bratislava.

On Wednesday, a meeting was held with the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO). Several issues were discussed, mainly  relating to experiences of introducing incentive-based tariff regulation for energy efficiency, the finer points of legislation on the use of renewables and alternative fuels as well as the regulatory framework and ways of encouraging electricity producers to provide warranties. During the second part of the session, the URSO focused on the production and distribution of biomass thermal energy; cogeneration of biogas thermal and electric energy and providing advise on how to improve Ukrainian legislation on energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable energy; and reviewing the legal status, objectives, functions and powers of the relevant authorities in Slovakia. The theory day ended with a presentation by the Slovak economy ministry. Slovak and Ukrainian counterparts discussed issues relating to the implementation of energy efficiency measures, the use and promotion of renewables and the legislative framework. This was followed by a presentation by the Slovak Green Building Council.

On Thursday the group toured Slovnaft, a refinery with an annual processing capacity of 5.5 – 6 million tons of crude oil, and discussed energy efficiency for large companies. The program continued with a presentation by Intech, a company based in Banská Štiavnica, and a site visit to Žarnovica where Intech runs a biomass heat plant.

The last day of the working program was devoted to city measures. The group visited Trnava and met with city representatives including the city’s energy manager, giving the group an opportunity to see how resources other than state/tax-based ones can be used to implement energy efficiency and renewable measures. The final meeting was held in Petržalka, Bratislava’s largest district, at one of its gas heat plants.

The visit was organized by the Slovak Foreign Policy Association in cooperation with its Ukrainian partners, the Center for Global Studies – Strategy XXI. The event was made possible thanks to the kind support of SlovakAid.