ManagEnergy Expert Mission to LENA Agency, Germany

The Regional Energy Agency of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany (Landesenergieagentur Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH, LENA) was founded in 2012 to drive the energy transition in the region. LENA’s mission is to encourage the exploitation of energy-saving potentials and the uptake of renewable energies in order to achieve regional energy goals. The team of 12 offers a wide range of services to 3 main target groups: businesses, consumers, and the public sector. The region of Sachsen-Anhalt is home to 2.2 million inhabitants and consumes around 90 TWh/a of energy.

From 16-18 October 2019, Christiane Egger from the Energy Agency of Upper Austria (OÖ Energiesparverband) visited LENA. The objective of the event was to take a fresh look at the agency’s activities and help spur new ideas and paths for reflection. Over the course of the 3 days, discussions focused on strategic business development and potential new services to trigger more energy investments in the region. Some topics discussed during the mission included variations of energy performance contracting suitable for the region’s context, how to strengthen and increase the outreach of existing investment programmes, and ideas for new initiatives such as a new regional energy efficiency prize. The main theme was also how to further activate stakeholders to make the best use of the many services already offered in order to boost clean energy investments in the region.

The first day was spent with LENA’s management team. In the morning, an in-depth presentation of both organisations and of the ManagEnergy initiative set the scene for further discussions. In the afternoon, an interactive workshop invited LENA’s management staff to reflect on their current activities and on potential fields and services they could develop. Together, challenges and opportunities were identified.

The second day brought together a group of key regional stakeholders including representatives of the regional ministry of environment and LENA’s advisory board, public authorities, an energy agency of a neighbouring region, a professor and a communication specialist. Under the topic “envisioning the future”, participants were invited to share their views and ideas on LENA’s role in the region. Through interactive sessions of brainstorming and reflection, they actively contributed to identifying and discussing future development opportunities for LENA and new services for driving investments in the energy transition.

On the last day, a focus was put on analysing the agency’s service portfolio for consumers. Ideas were exchanged on how it could be expanded and how stakeholders could be activated to use the services that are already offered. The wrap-up session with the agency director was a good opportunity to take a look back on the topics discussed and the overall outcomes of the 3 days. Possibilities for future cooperation between the two agencies were also explored.

Overall, the mission was a very interesting experience and, undoubtingly, contributed to triggering new ideas that will have positive, long-term benefits for the agency and the energy transition in Saxony-Anhalt.

“At each Expert Mission I carried out, I found a team of dedicated colleagues. As energy agencies, our structures and political contexts might differ, but our goal is the same: making the energy transition reality.”

Christiane Egger (expert)

“From time to time, it is advisable to pause and review goals and successes, as well as the basic orientation of your own organization. The ManagEnergy Expert Mission provided us with excellent support. The energy revolution and climate protection are undoubtedly among the greatest challenges of our time. The energy agencies of the federal states in Germany can contribute to the success of the challenges at the regional level. They are now also well networked at the European level. Formats such as the Mission help to support their work and serve further development.”

Dirk Trappe, LENA