City of Zagreb programme of public buildings retrofit and PV systems

The preparatory phase of the building retrofit is being implemented through two EU funded projects, namely Croatian One-Stop-Shop (CROSS) financed through the LIFE programme and ZA-GREEN financed through the ELENA facility of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Preparation for the PV installations is financed through the PVMax project, funded by ELENA. The results will include over 100 retrofitted public buildings and over 20 MW of installed PV capacity by 2026.

Coordinated by REGEA, the LIFE CROSS project started in September 2023 and spans 36 months. Partners include the City of Zagreb, Karlovac County, KrapinaZagorje County, Zagreb County, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb, Croatian Chamber of Economy, Association of Croatian Cities and FEDARENE. The total project budget amounts to €1.4 million and has the main objectives of providing one-stop-shop type of support for the retrofit of public buildings.

Specific objectives include the preparation of comprehensive building registries, the development of at least 100 feasibility studies for building retrofit and the implementation of innovative financing mechanisms. The project aims to achieve at least €67 million of investment in building retrofit, 13.5 GWh of primary energy savings and 5.1 GWh/year of renewable energy generation.

The ELENA ZA-GREEN project started in May 2023 and lasts for 36 months, with the City of Zagreb being the applicant and REGEA providing expert support. The total project budget is €2.7 million, with the main activities being the development of main project designs for the retrofit of at least 50 public buildings and the preparation of a feasibility study for the upgrading of the Building Energy Management System of the City of Zagreb. ZA-GREEN aims to achieve at least €80 million of investment in building retrofit and PV system installations until 2026.

The ELENA PVMax project is being coordinated by REGEA and has started in July 2021, lasting 36 months. The main aim is to achieve over €70 million of investment in building integrated PV systems (including public, commercial, and residential buildings) across Croatia, while a large part of the investment will be realised within the City of Zagreb.

In order to ensure the necessary level of financing, in 2023, the City of Zagreb has started negotiations with the European Investment Bank (EIB) regarding a Framework Loan, which includes components related to building retrofit (total planned amount of over €170 million until 2028) and PV installation (total planned amount of over €45 million until 2028). The EIB Framework Loan is planned to commence at the beginning of 2024.

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