Project: air pollution control fund

This project supported measures in the Czech-German border districts for switching small and medium-sized combustion plants with a capacity of up to 50 MW to environmentally sound energy sources such as natural gas, liquid gas, biogas, light heating oil (preferably natural gas if available) or untreated wood and other biomass. The plants can be used for heat generation or for combined heat and power supply. The new erection of environmentally friendly combustion plants was also eligible for funding, as was the conversion or new construction of combustion plants combined with the erection of solar collector installations, including the appropriate storage and systems equipment. To this end, the Reconstruction Loan Corporation KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) made a loan available up to a total of five million euros in the Czech currency for the creation of an "Air Pollution Control Fund". From this, individual loans were provided for relevant investment projects undertaken by small to medium-sized companies, municipalities, national institutions, housing authorities, children's homes, retirement and care homes and private individuals; for projects carried out in the Czech-German border districts between Liberec and Prachatice, these loans were made easier by an interest rate subsidy from the BMU amounting to around 119,000 euros. This concept entered completely new territory. For the first time an interest rate subsidy from the BMU was used with an interest rate subsidy from an EU Programme to support individual loans in Czech currency.

The project was terminated at the end of 2004.