EBRD and Global Environment Facility support Tajik gym save energy and money through sustainable technologies

The EBRD extended a US$ 2 million loan to the fitness centre to help it invest in energy savings. The business installed thermal solar panels on its roof, LED lighting and an energy control and monitoring system, alongside other efficient equipment.

A US$ 208,000 grant from the Global Environment Facility, through the EBRD’s FINTECC programme, supported the investment. It helped to ensure the adequate design of the new energy system, calculate relevant savings and provide the necessary know-how to operate it.

“We need to keep the temperatures constant in the building, in the pool and showers,” said Ms. Egamova. “The solar panels make sure that we can do this. They also help us to keep costs down.”

Such engineering projects are still a novelty in Tajikistan. The gym is the first one to have adopted such an approach and the results speak for themselves: it has helped them to cut their energy use by 20 percent.

Furthermore, X-Fit Premium also benefited from various advisory projects, supported by funding from the United States, to improve its marketing activities and accounting systems.

The energy savings are in everyone’s interest: the company can cut costs and provide its customers with high-quality facilities. Even better, the investment in solar power and energy efficiency benefits the environment in the country and globally.

The fitness centre is one of several dozen businesses across various sectors which have benefited from the EBRD’s FINTECC programme: from photovoltaic solar panels for a candy producer in Morocco to a geothermal heat pump for a mineral water producer in Georgia or even an innovative CO2 recovery system for a brewery in Turkmenistan.

The programme provides businesses not only with finance but also the necessary knowledge to invest in climate technologies to save energy, water and materials. At the same time, it supports policymakers in building the right environment for such investments to thrive in the long run.

Original source: EBRD
Published on 26 June 2018