Evaluation of China Utility Based Energy Efficiency Programme (CHUEE)
In 2007 Norad signed an agreement with IFC (International Finance Corporation) regarding co-financing of the China Utility-Based Energy Efficiency Programme (CHUEE). IFC has been running the programme since 2006. In February 2010 a mid-term review of the prgram was concluded.
The goal of the programme is to stimulate energy efficiency investments in China through 2 main instruments:
- Bank guarantees for Energy Efficiency Loans
- Technical assistance to market players including utilities, equipment vendors and energy service companies, to help implement energy efficiency projects.
A special focus would be given to small and medium sized enterprises, who often are the ones that face great challenges regarding access to finance.
The Norwegian contribution is NOK 18 million over 3 years and is earmarked capacity building as an integral part of the programme.
The mid-term review reports of a successful program where 99 energy efficiency projects have been financed leading to a reduction in green house gas emissions of approximately 14 million tons of CO2 equivalents per year. Furthermore the involved banks have increased their portfolio of energy efficiency related loans.
On the negative side it is noted that the defined target group has only partly been reached. Furthermore, the project’s additionality is questioned as the Chinese government has since the programme started put an increased focus on energy efficiency. This implies that industry are faced with standards that need to be met regardless of the CHUEE programme.