EPCs with Result Guarantee in the Dolomites

Energy Performance Contracts with Guarantee of Result for buildings and street lighting, at zero cost for public administrations, also breach in the Dolomites, among the most beautiful mountains in the world. Following two public tenders published by the Provincial Administration of Padua as contracting authority within the 3L Project (Less Energy, Less Costs, Less Impact), 29 Municipalities of the Belluno province will be able to energetically redevelop 60 buildings and 17,000 street lighting points. To these are added 10 technical institutes and hotel schools, owned by the Province of Belluno.

There are two tenders:

• A first one won by Edison Facility Solutions (ESCo) addressing the requalification of buildings by allowing 52 % of energy savings thanks to an investment of €11 M. These buildings are mostly schools.
• The other tender has been attributed to Servizi a Rete srl (SAR) concerning public street lighting for €7.3 M. of investments generating 81 % of energy savings.

The first tender, in addition to providing a technical solution for energy savings in buildings, also involves raising awareness among the population through behavioural modification programs in schools. These programs include:

• information campaigns, the creation of a web portal, use of social media and distribution of information material;
• training sessions for teachers and students on energy efficiency;
• Energy awareness meetings with citizens;
• training courses for employees, teachers and students;
• interdisciplinary educational workshops;
• school competitions to transform them into sustainability incubators, fostering a new mentality oriented towards energy savings.

For the two tenders, the public bodies involved in the initiative – 29 Municipalities and the Provincial Administration of Belluno – will see their consumption reduced, in terms of Primary Energy, by over 20 million kWh/year, which equals 63% of historical consumption. The economic savings will be almost €273,000 which, added to the discount offered on Operation and Maintenance, will lead to an immediate budget relief of €314,000, representing 10% of the historical energy costs for buildings and street lighting. The saved energy cost ranges from €0,05/kWh for public lighting, to €0,07/ kWh for building redevelopment against current average costs of €0,08/kWh for Natural Gas, €0,10/ kWh for gas-oil and about €0,18/kWh for electricity.

The 3L Project was made possible thanks to a contribution provided by the European Investment Bank’s ELENA facility, used to cover 90% of the technical assistance costs, namely: execution of energy audits, determination of the energy and economic baselines, drafting the terms of reference, the contractual schemes, the system for offers evaluation, the procedures for monitoring, verifying results and reporting. To these must be added a further contribution awarded by the Cariparo Foundation for the preparatory phase and for the last years of the program.