The Fund will cover 49 per cent of the costs, or HRK 26.32 million.
The 60 projects, to be carried out in 19 counties, are expected to cut about 15 million kilowatt-hours in electricity and heating consumption per year, HRK 10.4 million in costs, and 20 tonnes in CO2 emissions.
Environment and Nature Protection Minister Mihael Zmajlovic said at the signing ceremony the projects were selected from a 2010 tender.
He said environment and nature protection were often seen as an obstacle to development, whereas they were a tool for green growth. He said the ministry would encourage energy-efficient development.
Assistant Economy Minister Alen Leveric said 33 buildings in Croatia used renewables and produced their own energy at the end of 2011 and their number jumped to 104 in the first ten months of 2012 after the procedure was simplified.
By the end of this year and in 2013, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund is expected to invite tenders for the co-financing of the energy certification of buildings and the use of renewables in households.
Also today, the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts organised a round table on investment in the energy upgrading of old buildings, the construction of low-energy buildings and the application of new technologies as a way of stimulating investment in the construction sector and helping the economy to recover.
More than 80 per cent of buildings in Croatia do not comply with heating protection regulations, the round table heard. It also heard that the potential to save energy in building construction is big, because buildings account for 42.3 per cent of energy consumption. In those built prior to 1987, 200-250 kWh is spent on heating per square metre and the aim is to reduce this to 50-80 kWh.
(EUR 1 = HRK 7.5)