Background and Motivation
The success of further increasing energy efficiency in all sectors of consumption plays a vital role in coping with the challenges of our common energy future. Avoiding energy consumption by increasing end-use efficiency is a highly effective way to meet all three key targets of energy policies: Security of supply, affordable costs of energy services and environmental soundness.
But what are the appropriate instruments to bring energy efficiency to the end-user? One of the most urgent energy policy and energy economics challenges continues to be the search for suitable “tools” to execute energy conservation potentials. The level of success is far from satisfactory as the continuous increase in final energy consumption reveals. Now and for the foreseeable future there is an urgent need to conclude and support all suitable political, regulatory and market based instruments for the implementation of Energy Efficiency and Renewables.
The ESCo industry is an expanding business throughout the world contributing to the improvement of energy efficiency, control of energy costs and reduction of greenhouse gas and other emissions. The models of offering these services can get various forms like Energy Supply Contracting (ESC) or Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) resulting in diverse contract models and financing arrangements. Our view of the basic features of “real” Energy-Contracting projects can be downloaded here: IEA-DSM-Task16_Task-Flyer_Sept2013.pdf
What is Energy Contracting? An integrated service with results guaranteed.
Task 16 serves as a research and expert platform, while national experts carry out individual national implementation activities. The results of Task 16 are discussed and disseminated in a series of stakeholder workshops, publications, presentations at conferences and workshops.
Energy contracting activities have been started in different segments of energy consumption in different countries. White areas on the market map are gradually being covered by existing and new enterprises. Nevertheless Energy Contracting still is a complex product, which can not be sold or procured easily in the markets. As it is the case with energy efficiency in general. In many other countries markets are still immature and in a developing stage. There are many reasons to take the work of Task XVI further on the way towards developed energy service markets:
- National implementation activities of energy efficiency implementation still face numerous obstacles. There is an urgent need to support all suitable political, regulatory and market based instruments for the implementation of Energy Efficiency and Renewables. This is where the Task XVI extension wants to pay it’s contribution. Realized energy supply contracting projects typically achieve 15-20 % efficiency improvements on the supply side. Energy performance contracting projects have realized efficiency gains of 20-30 % and the integrated contracting approach or comprehensive refurbishment model achieves 30 to 50%. CO2-Emission reductions are in many cases above 50 % because of a change of energy carriers to lower carbon content or renewables.
- Energy contracting models focus on implementation of any existing or innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. Energy contracting models have an interdisciplinary approach incorporating many aspects of the implementation process, such as economical, financing, organizational, legal and technological issues in order to achieve guaranteed performance and results of the efficiency technology deployed. Further research is needed in a number fields on the way to more competitive energy service products and market development, e.g. integrating demand side efficiency measures into supply contracting models or tools for (public) procurement of energy services.
- The Task 16 Energy Services Expert Platform has worked successfully over the last three years. The platform will continue to serve the country experts exchange and networking, to support national implementation activities and communication with their stakeholders and to provide access to innovative and competitive Energy service models and tools from the Think Tank.
Task 16 has received considerable interest in its previous work, expressed in a number of invitations to conferences and workshops to more than ten IEA as well as non IEA countries. Also the task work itself benefits from feedback on its publications. This international and national dissemination activity of IEA DSM work should be taken further and will also enhance the visibility of the DSM programme as a whole.
