Project Detail

Transitioning towards energy resilience through improvement of energy efficiency in Stepanavan kindergartens

The project aims to increase the energy resilience of Stepanavan town through implementation of energy efficiency (EE) measures and installation of solar hot water systems in three community kindergartens.
It is important to integrate Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change issues into development programmes especially in urban communities to enable sustainable development of communities. Taking into account the urgency of this issue, the town of Stepanavan has officially joined the ?Making cities resilient: My city is getting ready? global campaign which has about 1,400 member states around the world. The town of Stepanavan has also initiated creation of the DRR National Platform to pilot the resilience format, which will be later replicated in 12 communities of Armenia that have joined the campaign. This work was implemented with the joint efforts of the UNDP, UNOCHA, UNISDR GETI, World Vision Armenia, Armenian Red Cross Society, Lore Rescue Brigade and the municipality of Stepanavan. As a result, the resilience plan of Stepanavan was developed and approved by the town administration. The proposed project is also driven by the sub-point ?Development and implementation of energy saving programmes? (alternative ways) of the Priority Action 6 of the resilience plan. With the financial support of GEF Small Grants Programme, the project envisages construction and operation of solar hot water systems, in parallel with EE improvement measures, in three kindergartens of Stepanavan as an integral part of introducing new approaches and culture of energy conservation.
The project with be implemented in close collaboration with World Vision Armenia, Armenian Red Cross Society, Disaster Risk Reduction project of the UNDP, DRR National Platform, UNICEF and the Municipality of Stepanavan. The project envisages training of the staff of the beneficiary kindergartens and the specialists of the Municipality on the operation of solar water systems, as well as dissemination of knowledge and information on the project results, in particular through the official webpage of the Municipality and reviews posted in the internet. This is be in line with Priority Action 7 of the Resilience Plan of Stepanavan on ?Development of training materials and implementation of training on activities relating to major hazards of the community, vulnerable elements, climate change and adaptation and their reduction?.

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

"KhoranArd" Intellecual Center of Gyumri" NGO

Country:

Armenia

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 5

Grant Amount:

US$ 8,583.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 54,340.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 10,800.00

Project Number:

ARM/SGP/OP5/Y4/CORE/CC/14/34

Start Date:

11/2014

End Date:

9/2015

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

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Project Characteristics and Results

Project sustainability

1. Social-economic sustainability The warranty period of the solar water heaters being built within the project is estimated to be 15 years during which the nominal capacity of 3 kindergartens is 43 kW. About 73,500 kWh solar energy will be produced annually by the solar water heaters that equals to about US$ 5,500. The community may direct savings to cover other social needs. The saved funds within the 15 years? warranty operation of the systems will equal to about US $81,500. 1. Environmental sustainability The energy produced by the solar heating system will replace the energy produced by carbon fuel; as a result, emission of 36 tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will be avoided annually, which will contribute to the climate change abatement. The period of environmental sustainability is also estimated as 15 years in accordance with the warranty period of the systems. 2. Institutional sustainability Training of Stepanavan municipality personnel and adjacent communities, representatives of NGOs and community-based organizations and other stakeholders will establish basis for institutional development for introduction of community-level initiatives on the use of renewables and energy conservation. Taking into account the fact that this project is driven by the Resilience Action Plan of Stepanavan and is valued by the municipality as a new approach, it may well become a precedent for implementation of similar initiatives in other communities.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

As a result of application of solar hot water technology and implementation of EE measures in the community kindergartens, daily use of at least 30 m3 of natural gas will be reduced that will ensure monetary saving of US$ 5,500 yearly. The money saved will be directed to solve other essential needs of the kindergartens.

Policy Impact

DRR process as an integral part of development is an urgent issue especially for poor and developing countries. It is one of the priority issues also in Armenia which is best proven by the DRR strategy adopted by the Government of Armenia on March 7, 2012. It is important to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change issues into development programmes especially in urban communities to enable their sustainable development. Taking into account the urgency of this issue, Stepanavan community has officially joined the ?Making cities resilient: My city is getting ready? global campaign which has about 1,400 member states around the world. Stepanavan has also suggested the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) National Platform to pilot the resilience format that would be later replicated in 12 cities of Armenia that had joined the campaign.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Dissemination of project economic benefits to be produced by the projects will serve as an incentive for soft-term loans with high rate of return to the investments made over the long period of time. This approach is viable especially in light of expected increase of prices for natural gas and electricity.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

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Policy Influence

Stepanavan community emphasizes the importance of sustainable development of the community, which is best proven by the development and approval of the Community Resilience Plan. The latter will be included in the community development four-year action plan. The plan pays special attention to implementation of energy conservation projects, as well as green landscaping and preservation and maintenance of green zones. This is an urgent issue for the development of the city as tourism and preservation of natural resources are among the most important development goals. In parallel with the current initiative, the municipality is planning to implement a project on EE street lighting, as well as promote energy saving technologies especially in newly constructed buildings. Successful implementation of the project will encourage use of energy saving technologies and integration of similar projects into the local development policies. For the purpose of monitoring and supporting this goal and the process of resilience plan implementation, a Community Resilience Team has been established by the order of the Mayor, which will at the same time act as an advisory body for the implementation of the DRR national strategy and the HFA.

Gender Focus

The project contributes to increasing equal opportunities both for men and women. The staff of the kindergartens, which are the main beneficiary groups of the project, mainly consist of women. As part of women empowerment component, it is also envisaged to involve women in all trainings on operation and maintenance of the solar system.

Notable Community Participation

The project was developed with the initiative and direct participation of Stepanavan municipality, which is committed to provide financial and in-kind (labor and technical equipment) contribution for the project implementation ?US$ 5,000 and US$ 4,550 respectively. The staff of the beneficiary pre-school institutions, individual citizens and non-governmental organizations of the community will enhance their capacities through direct participation in the project activities.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

The project will raise awareness of local population on climate change, its challenges and other global environmental issues that GEF address. The project will also invest in enhancement of local capacities to develop and implement innovative low-carbon practices at the community level. Project knowledge and experience on practicing solar technologies and associated economic benefits will be widely disseminated throughout other communities of Armenia, especially in those that officially joined the ?Making cities resilient: My city is getting ready? global campaign.

Replication of project activities

This initiative per se is a comprehensive replication of the SGP successful projects on solar energy use and energy conservation in buildings implemented in a number of communities throughout Armenia. At the final stage of the project, the energy efficiency, environmental and social results will be analyzed, information reviews will be prepared and posted in the official webpage of the Municipality and the global web; regional trainings will be organized. For the purpose of knowledge dissemination, representatives of other communities, especially the other 12 Armenian towns that joined the ?Making cities resilient: My city is getting ready? global campaign, will be invited, with the outlook to replicate the project in these towns.

Project Results

The goal of the project is to increase energy efficiency in three pre-school institutions in Stepanavan, reduce energy consumption and increase the comfort by building solar water systems, as well as replacing the doors and windows and installing heating system in one of the beneficiary kindergartens. The project implementation will also allow raising the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the kindergartens as the availability of hot water for 24 hours will increase the efficiency of keeping the children, kitchenware and toilets clean. It is worth noting that about 400 children attend these three kindergartens and are provided meals for three times. Installation of central heating system in one of the beneficiary kindergartens will enable removing the existing costly and inefficient gas heaters, and thus, enhance child health. What is more important, gas heaters are dangerous for children due both to risk of fire and to the emissions with potential to cause carbon monoxide gas poisoning.

It is expected that by the project will produce the following main outputs:
1. Solar water systems are installed and operated in beneficiary kindergartens of the project.
2. A central gas heating system is installed and operated in project beneficiary kindergarten #1.
3. Doors and windows of the project beneficiary kindergarten #1 are replaced with energy efficient ones.
4. Relevant specialists of the Municipality of Stepanavan are trained on construction and maintenance of renewable energy systems.
5. Knowledge and lessons learned on energy efficiency, environmental and social results as well as energy resilience are disseminated through printed and internet resources.

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Indicators

Biophysical

Tonnes of CO2 decreased or avoided by energy efficient and renewable energy technologies or applying environmentally sustainable transport practices introduced by SGP Project 36

Empowerment

Number of CBOs / NGOs participated / involved in SGP project 5

Livehood

Increase in household income by increased income or reduced costs due to SGP project 7400

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