Caz Coșniţa – Development of an innovative citizen energy model for rural regions of the Republic of Moldova with the integration of municipal and SME structures

Keywords: citizen energy, climate protection, resource conservation, environmental technology, capacity building, networking, energy community, knowledge transfer, biogas, agriculture

Subject and goals of the project

Many commercial enterprises in the Republic of Moldova have lost more than 90% of their sales markets as a result of the European sanctions policy against Russia. The population’s income is among the lowest in Europe. Due to the gas crisis, heating costs have risen to more than half the cost of living. In rural areas, the infrastructure has not been renewed for decades, and the employment situation is particularly strained by labor migration. This also applies to the small municipality of Coșniţa, with a population of 6,000, on the Dnister Loop in the Transnistrian border region, 30 kilometers north-east of the capital Chișinau. The aim is to establish a public-private partnership between energy consumers from households and the economic and municipal environment for the decentralized generation and use of electricity and heat. This civic initiative for decarbonized energy production is also intended to contribute to democratic prosumergy development in the Republic of Moldova.

As part of the focused energy transition and the development of the circular economy in Moldova, biomass that is produced in a non-ecosystem-serving form (explicitly residual materials, not crops) is to be processed into biogas. In addition to energy use, another project focus is on the production of high-quality farm manure. The energy sources come from various local sources, in particular pomace and press residues from fruit growing, used cooking fats and, in some cases, liquid manure.

The project objectives are defined as follows:

Establishment of a sustainable energy association “Caz Coșnița” as a hub
Preparation of a feasibility study for the municipal biogas plant in Coșnița
Technical planning of a local heating network for businesses, municipalities (Coșnița) and, if applicable, private households
Acquisition of and cooperation with supporters from politics and financial institutions

Innovation and exemplary nature of the project

For Moldova, the planned establishment of a citizens’ energy organization is in itself a major innovation. The Caz Coșnița project is developing a model for municipal energy planning in Moldova that is particularly tailored to the country’s decentralized agricultural structure. The technical system structure and the planned organizational structure of the civil society-dominated activity are potentially transferable to approx. 150 villages of similar size and characteristics in the Republic of Moldova and potentially also to other similarly structured regions in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

Special aspects of the project

Through discussions in Moldova during the preparatory phase, additional support was secured from regional structures such as the organic farmers’ association, at state secretary level of the Moldovan Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture and the management level of the Moldovan State Energy Agency. In this respect, it can be assumed that the model project has a high level of visibility and is highly likely to be implemented and enforced.

Funding theme 6: Renewable energy, energy saving and efficiency

Project Implementation:

Spelleken Associates, Alzenau, Bavaria
innova eG, Leipzig (Borsdorf)/Dortmund/Freiburg
BMO Grup S.R.L., Coșniţa, Republic of Moldova

Associated partners:

Moldovan Biogas Association ABBM, Chișinau, Republic of Moldova
Ukrainian Biogas Association UABIO, Kiev, Ukraine
ProRuralInvest, Chișinau, Republic of Moldova
NGO Inima Nistrului, Chișinau, Republic of Moldova

Places of work: Germany, Republic of Moldova

Funding period: September 2023 to March 2026

Project costs: total volume: 293,576 euros, funding from DBU: 142,000 euros

DBU-AZ: 39258

Status: 01.03.2024