International ESCO Symposium 2025 – Aggregation and Financing Through Super ESCOs

Moderated by Svetlana Adamek (Managing Director, adamek & adamek consulting GmbH), this session explored the role of Super ESCOs in unlocking large-scale energy efficiency investments by aggregating projects, reducing risk, and enabling financing solutions. The panel featured public and private sector leaders from the UAE, Philippines, Canada, Morocco, and Trinidad and Tobago, each sharing their unique SuperESCO models and experiences.

Key Insights by Speaker

Suhaib Al Marzooqi – TAQA Energy Services, UAE

• Abu Dhabi’s SuperESCO focuses on enabling the government sector to adopt energy performance contracting (EPC).
• Success hinged on government mandates, client onboarding, and market awareness.
• Challenges included low tariffs and resistance from facilities management companies.

Alexander Ablaza – CEO, Climargy, Philippines

• Climargy is a private SuperESCO addressing the lack of capital access for small and medium-sized ESCOs.
• Offers off-balance-sheet equity financing, allowing ESCOs to focus on technical delivery.
• Aggregates projects to attract climate investors and maximise job creation and emissions reductions.

Pierre Langlois – President, Econoler, Canada

• Shared experiences from Sofia, a SuperESCO in Canada and France.
• Emphasised the importance of risk allocation, standardisation, and financial structuring.
• Highlighted how bundling projects and offering turnkey financial solutions makes energy efficiency attractive to clients and banks.

Mehdi Benjelloun – Deputy General Manager, Attijari Capital Management, Morocco

• Launched Africa’s first SuperESCO, African Energy Efficiency Fund (FADE).
• Raised €20 million to support ESCOs and standardise contracts.
• Focused on risk-sharing, ESCO capacity building, and market development.

Arden Rodriguez – Assistant Manager, National Energy Corporation, Trinidad and Tobago

• Super ESCO initiative aims to reduce natural gas use in power generation.
• Focused on training local ESCOs, standardising contracts, and managing EPCs for clients.
• Demonstrated strong potential for energy savings and emissions reductions.

Common Themes and Takeaways

• SuperESCOs fill critical gaps in project preparation, financing, and aggregation that traditional ESCOs and banks cannot address alone.
• They enable standardisation, de-risking, and scaling of energy efficiency investments.
• SuperESCOs act as market enablers, building trust, capacity, and long-term partnerships between public and private sectors.
• Both public and private SuperESCOs play vital roles depending on market maturity and policy context.
• SuperESCOs are increasingly seen as financial intermediaries, not just technical facilitators.

Conclusion

The session demonstrated that SuperESCOs are not just a theoretical concept—they are practical, scalable solutions to some of the most persistent barriers in the energy efficiency market. Whether public or private, SuperESCOs are uniquely positioned to aggregate small projects, standardise contracts, and mobilise capital at scale. They help bridge the gap between facility owners, ESCOs, and financiers by aligning incentives and managing risk.

Speakers emphasised that SuperESCOs are especially valuable in low-tariff environments, emerging markets, and contexts with limited ESCO capacity. They also play a pivotal role in capacity building, market development, and policy alignment. As energy efficiency becomes a central pillar of climate action, SuperESCOs offer a replicable model for delivering measurable impact—economically, environmentally, and socially.

The session concluded with a call to continue innovating, sharing best practices, and scaling up Super ESCO models globally to meet the urgent demands of the energy transition.