November 8 (SeeNews) - Romania's ministry for investments and European projects said on Tuesday that it has issued a call for proposals for energy efficiency projects worth a total of 250 million euro ($249.5 million) from European funds.
The purpose of the call is to encourage local authorities to obtain energy from renewable sources, such as geothermal, solar and wind, the ministry said in a press release.
Applications can be submitted between November 8-16.
The funding will be granted under the EU-backed Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (LIOP) and will range between 500,000 euro and 5 million euro for each submitted project.
"Production of green energy must immediately become a priority for local authorities, both for own consumption and for selling, especially in the conditions of the recent significant increase in utility prices" investments and European projects minister Marcel Bolos said.
In the context of the neighboring conflict in Ukraine which increased the price of utilities by approximately 40%, the ministry is implementing support measures for the business environment and local authorities, worth 1 billion euro.
Another call for projects worth a further 250 million euro will be launched in the upcoming period to support investments in energy production capacities from renewable sources.
($=1.0018 euro)