The Rastriya Banijya Bank Limited (RBBL) launched a grant scheme under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme–Green Recovery and Empowerment with Energy in Nepal (REEEP-GREEN) on Thursday.

The grant scheme, managed by RBBL, aims to support industries and enterprises with significant energy saving potential in adopting energy-efficient practices, contributing to green growth and livelihood improvement in Nepal.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the RBBL stated that the grant scheme encourages industries and enterprises to invest in their own energy efficiency measures, identified through energy audits conducted by locally certified energy auditors by providing a grant to cover a percentage share of total investment. “The grant conditions prioritize energy efficiency, decent work approaches and environmental standards,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the benefits realized from the grant supported measures will serve as a demonstration of concept to develop business cases for loan and blended financing supported interventions in the public and private sector. “This will encourage more industries and enterprises to adopt energy efficiency measures and also promote sustainable development in Nepal.” the statement read.

REEEP–GREEN is a technical cooperation project agreed between the Government of Nepal (GoN), the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union. With the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union, the project is implemented by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.