CONSERVATION FIRST! A NEW ESCO MODEL TO COMBINE ENERGY EFFICENCY AND RENEWABLE SUPPLY

“Any renewable supply should first of all focus on energy conservation by evaluating all possible demand reduction opportunities. Only afterwards the remaining demand is supplied as efficiently as possible – preferably from renewables. Otherwise climate protection goals are not achievable.” [Bleyl 2009] A good example for this thesis is the reduction of all electrical and thermal cooling loads including solar shading options before assessing and implementing an air conditioning unit. The literature provides numerous support for this thesis. To quote a prominent source: According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the improvement of end-use efficiency is the largest contributor to CO2 saving potentials. „At the point of use, the largest contributor to avoided CO2 emissions is improved end-use efficiency, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total savings. Increased use of Renewables in power generation and of bio-fuels in transport account for only 12%.“ [IEA 2006]. 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. Since the mid of this decade, Energy Services have climbed high on political agendas and have even reached the headline of energy legislation [2006/32/EC]. “Energy Contracting” (EC) is cited many times as a smart multi-purpose-instrument, which will help to overcome market barriers. But the realistic potentials, the limits and added values of ESCo products are not well enough understood yet. And there is an urgent need to join forces between energy efficiency and renewable energy advocates. In this contribution we introduce a new, market based implementation model for energy efficiency and supply (from Renewables), labeled as Integrated Energy Contracting (IEC). The model builds on established products of the ESCo industry for the execution of renwable and energy conservation potentials.

The core objectives of this publication can be summarized as follows:
1. To unite energy conservation and (renewable) energy supply into an integrated approach,
2. To discuss quality assurance instruments and simplified measurement and verification methods for the supply and energy efficiency measures and
3. To increase understanding of Energy Contracting as a tool to implement renwable and energy efficiency projects: Pros and cons, potentials, limits and added values of ESCo products in comparison to in-house implementation.