Improving energy performance of public buildings in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 4 April 2025, the Policy Learning Platform organised a matchmaking session at the request of the Centre for Green Energy (CZE) of the City Development Agency Banja Luka (CIDEA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. CIDEA requested support in rolling out renewable energy technologies in its territory, improving its public buildings, and demonstrating the benefits of renewable energies to the public. The matchmaking was held online.
Policy Challenge
Banja Luka has significant potential in solar, wind and hydropower, and wishes to kick-start the transition to renewable energy sources as part of a commitment to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
However, the city faces challenges in financing, regulatory frameworks and provision of technical expertise for implementing projects, and they are seeking guidance on policy measures, examples of successful projects from other European regions and recommendations for building partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders to support the green energy transition.
As a starting point, CIDEA wants to consider how to improve the performance of their public buildings through energy efficiency and the integration of renewable energy, particularly photovoltaics for self-consumption, which can also serve as demonstrators and be used for communication with the wider public.
Key insights and recommendations
Banja Luka has an enabling framework for energy improvement, with a national Energy Efficiency Law and Renewable Energy Law, a regional Energy Strategy for Republika Srpska, and the city level Sustainable Development Strategy of Banja Luka and Green City Action Plan, which define concrete steps for implementing energy efficiency measures.
Most public buildings in the territory do not meet modern energy-saving standards due to poor insulation, old and inefficient heating systems, high electricity use and little use of renewable energy. The city plans to improve energy efficiency by adding insulation, replacing windows, installing smart heating and cooling systems, using solar PV for electricity generation, switching to LED lighting and monitoring energy use, and wanted to learn from the experiences of other regions:
- The Municipality of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, implemented pilot actions in the framework of the POWERTY project to renovate three energy class B social buildings, already installed with wall and roof insulation and HVAC systems for heating and cooling. The pilot tested PV and battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a payback time of around 7 years.
- Orestiada, Greece, set about procuring PV systems for the rooftops of three public schools with net metering, whereby excess generated electricity sold into the grid, funded under a Greek national funding scheme, managed by the Ministry of Interior. Technical specifications were defined with outside experts to ensure they were of good quality.
- In Cluj-Napoca, Romania, a shared PV system was installed across seven public buildings of various types (universities, schools, sports centre and agri-food hall), funded under the a Romania programme and the EEA & Norway financial mechanism. The city also operates a platform for visualisation of real-time energy data, helping with awareness raising efforts.
From the exchanges, a number of key take-aways can be surmised:
energy efficiency should come first to improve building performance, with the remaining energy requirements met by RES.
Not only for technicians, but also for municipalities, whose staff need to be trained to be able to design energy projects, successfully apply for funding, or devise tendering documentation.
and also, determining potential energy savings and focusing first on those which could have maximum impact. If necessary, this can be done with external experts rather than municipal staff.
Municipalities should also take account of potential disturbance to building operation and find a way to minimise it to reduce resistance Participants noted that energy projects should also be considered as social projects, maximising social benefit of investments.
considering not only the cost benefit, but also factors such as technical performance, quality of service and maintenance.
They have a consistent energy curve based on similar daily energy use and have the benefit of often being closed for holiday periods, when installation can be done with minimum disturbance. Such projects can also be used for awareness raising with students and parents.
but also digital platforms that demonstrate real time benefits. Be sure to speak in non-technical language (as in Cluj-Napoca, where the dashboard demonstrates carbon savings in terms of kilometres driven and equivalent trees planted).
collaborate with, and learn from, others and seek external expertise when it is needed.