Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ)

In March 1995, the governments of Hungary and the Netherlands initiated a series of Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) projects to promote AIJ as a feasible means of energy conservation and emissions reduction. This pilot AIJ included a demonstration of small-scale energy efficiency projects for municipalities and utilities managed by NOVEM (National Energy and Environmental Agency of the Netherlands) together with EGI (Institute for Energy Management, Hungary) Consulting and Engineering in Budapest. This simulation studied a number of energy efficiency projects initiated by local governments: in most cases, these projects were identified based on expert advice provided earlier through the Dutch bilateral PSO programme and through twinning arrangements with Western European cities within the EU -- PHARE/ECOS/UVERTURE "urban twinning" programme. A total of 62 projects wee monitored in 12 Hungarian cities. In addition, AIJ included a combination of a small-scale cogeneration (CHP) project and a demand-side management (DSM) project at the Technical University of Budapest. These projects were developed by the Dutch utility Westland and the Budapest gas utility Fogaz and implemented by a joint venture of both companies. Local governments themselves financed the AIJ demonstration, either from their own resources or by attracting external funds. These external funds were commercial loans, soft-loan arrangements (e.g. the German Coal Aid Revolving Fund) and third-party financing.