In the process of addressing the global goals of minimizing adverse impacts on climate, which puts the international community, Bulgaria has developed and implemented a number of mechanisms, emphasizing their long-term national energy efficiency program. Major role in achieving the objectives of the program have Bulgarian municipalities through the implementation of its strategic programs. Documents developed for local development municipality of Smolyan, including plan development, municipal programs, environmental protection, energy efficiency and sustainable use of renewable energy on the one hand and taking global analysis, adverse changes in climate associated with the issuance of greenhouse gases, pledged measures to minimize their issue and consider other possibilities for harnessing renewable energy as one of the important decisions to tackle the problem. In parallel, they need to address the use of alternative energy sources such as current opportunity for sustainable local development. Despite studies, which show that energy consumption in households and services can be significantly reduced through enhanced use of renewable energy, mainly solar energy, the fact is that currently are not widely developed possibilities for harnessing solar energy to heat water for municipal household purposes. At the same time insufficient information base about the possibilities of using renewable energy sources, further impedes the process of borrowing and implementation of such activities by educational institutions and society as a whole and requires implementation of measures for promoting and engaging the public to these issues. In addition, inadequate promotion and effective implementation of a broad partnership with business and civil society organizations and the lack of good examples of effective public-private partnership in public life often prevent successful implementation of a number of public activities set out in strategic documents of the municipality.
Project target groups include both local students who will benefit from the project results and the public, which are directed to information and promotional measures. On the other hand, target group are the representatives of municipalities in the region of the Rhodopes, which will be able to multiply the results.
The main target of this project is to contribute to minimizing the negative impact of human activity on global climate change as a basis for sustainable local development by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases resulting from the introduction of a technology demonstration of renewable energy utilization. Through the successful implementation of the project first will achieve an extension of new technologies in the fields of energy efficiency and the other will increase the number of people informed on issues related to protecting the global environment. At the same time will improve the cooperative and will improve linkages between institutions and organizations at the local level for implementation of joint public activities.
The specific objectives of the project and expected results are related on the one hand reduce the amount greenhouse gases emitted as a result of the system for harnessing renewable energy and other measures to promote and integrate the questions of protecting the global environment in the process local planning and development. Meanwhile, the project aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between public, private and NGO sector as a key prerequisite for sustainable local development. In addition, effective implementation of the project will help raise awareness among educational institutions and the public about the benefits of harnessing renewable energy and forming responsible attitude towards global environmental problems.
As a suitable demonstration site to achieve the objectives of this project partners identified general secondary education "Otec Paisii, Smolyan. The project envisages introduction of a system for utilization of solar energy and its transformation into heat as a measure of energy efficiency and supporting the implementation of actions set out in strategic documents. Besides surely achieve economic efficiency of operation of the system will achieve a significant reduction in CO2 emissions as a contribution to global climate protection. In addition will contribute to the local indicators aimed at addressing the parameters of sustainable development and implementation of strategic documents of the municipality. The successful implementation of the project Secondary School ?Otec Paisii? will be the first educational institution in the region of the Middle Rhodopes, the technologies for harnessing renewable energy. This will create conditions to produce an analysis of the effectiveness of this type of systems, which in turn will provide a good basis for multiplication of the results of project development and implementation of a similar type of technology and other educational institutions in the region of the Rhodope Mountains and the country. On the other hand, the measures to update the strategic documents will enable the results of the system will be used effectively in planning a similar type of activities in future projects. In addition, provided information campaigns and activities aimed at promoting the results to representatives of educational institutions and the public will help raise awareness about the benefits of renewable energy as a resource for sustainable local development.
After successfully completing a first draft is expected to introduce successfully functioning cost-effective technologies for harnessing renewable energy as a technology demonstration, contributing to the implementation of activities set out in strategic documents of the municipality and ultimately establishing a prerequisite for sustainable local development.
The overall budget of this project is 112463.02 BGN, of which 56007 BGN asked from GEF SGP.