ManagEnergy Master Class #2: deep dive on Financial Instruments

Participants had varying levels of previous knowledge and experience on the topic, but they all had the ambition to raise sustainable energy and energy efficiency investments in their cities and regions. Some of them were also beneficiaries of the EU City Facility who had obtained a €60,000 grant to develop an investment concept for their territory – highlighting the positive synergies that can be developed by using multiple EU Initiatives.

Cooperating with the Private Sector

Three main instruments were addressed during the sessions of the second Master Class: Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).

The expert agency delivering the training, the North-West Croatia Energy and Climate Agency – REGEA, has been using these tools for many years now. The Agency has developed expertise in large scale project aggregation and has generated over €150M of total investment volume in projects implemented together with local and regional authorities, including building retrofits, public lighting reconstruction, and renewable energy installations.

Acting as a facilitator, REGEA establishes partnerships with public authorities and the private sector, leveraging private finance for the acceleration of the energy transition in North-West Croatia.

The three sessions organised on 27 September, 10-11 October and 27 October, aimed to pass on this knowledge and encourage more energy agencies to develop investment projects with the private sector.

The ManagEnergy Method

The Class followed the codes of ManagEnergy trainings, mixing presentations with practical group and pitching exercises.

In addition to the core presentations delivered by REGEA, this Class also featured several external guests:

• Dinis Rodrigues, European Investment Bank (EIB) gave a presentation of the ELENA Facility;
• Pierluca Merola, DG ENER – European Commission presented the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) Recast and how it scales up financing and technical assistance opportunities;
• Argiro Giakoumi, Centre of Renewable Energy Sources and Saving – Cres, on ProDeSA (Energy Efficiency Project Development for South Attica);
• Manuel Nina, Goparity, on BundleUp NEXT (Next-Level PDA Methodolofy to enhance public and private sustainable energy projects).

Participants seem to particularly appreciate the time they had to work in groups. These exercises involved finding a common project to work on in order to identify commercial potential, calculate potential revenues; define output specifications in relation to energy efficiency in buildings and their key performance indicators; and more.

Key Takeaway: preparation, preparation, preparation

… Is something we heard Velimir Segon and Josip Censiga, our two trainers from REGEA, advise multiple times.

According to them, using EPCs, PPPs and PPAs is not so complex if we take the time and plan carefully, anticipating potential risks, and coming up with mitigating actions.

The financial analyses and numbers that come out of them should also be bullet proof. This is what will allow to maintain and implement the contracts over a long period of time.

Watch the video

Interested in joining our future Classes? Visit our Master Class webpage! We will soon open registrations for Master Class 3 on One-Stop-Shops.