Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
London [
4
]. Even so, the government of Catalonia and the city of Barcelona are
continuing to make great strides to maintain Barcelona as a clean and more energy
ef
cient city.
The principal platform designed to achieve these goals is the Institut Catal
à
d
Energia (ICAEN) [
12
]. Its main functions are comprised of providing information
about the Catalan energy sector, educational content regarding energy conservation
and ef
'
c technology renovations, implementing
relevant legislation, energy market statistics and targeted reports. With respect to
ESCOs, they are trying to standardize the legal aspects of an ESCO project by
providing model contracts and clauses.
Dialogue between ICAEN, as well as other governmental entities, and private
ESCOs is facilitated by the recently formed Cl
ciency,
nancial aid for speci
tica de
Catalunya (CEEC). They also strive to engage the entire value chain, eliminate
barriers to the ESCO market to increase investor con
ú
ster d
'
E
ciencia Energ
é
dence, negotiate with banks
to create new
nancing options for ESCOs and provide support for EU R&D
project applications. Currently, their main aim is to de
ne projects according to
their size and inherent characteristics in order to allow for ESCOs to specialize by
project type. This will serve as a means to guarantee the quality and results of a
venture.
With respect to local policy instruments to foster the adoption of energy ef
ciency
products and services, the city of Barcelona appears to be quite proactive. The
recently published
Plan for Energy, Climate Change and Air Quality 2011
-
2020
(
PECQ
) provides a comprehensive analysis of the city
s energy consumption
strengths and weaknesses as well as a clear roadmap for reaching new objectives.
'
4.1 The Solar Thermal Ordinance
One of the aims of the
PECQ
is to take advantage of Barcelona
s primary source of
renewable energy: sunshine. The
Solar Thermal Ordinance
(STO), put into effect in
2000, requires all new construction and renovations to supply 60 % of the build-
ing
'
s sanitary hot water via solar thermal (ST) roof installations.
However, as with any new policy instrument, there are some gaps to be
'
lled.
The person responsible for solar energy projects at the Barcelona Energy Agency
stated that due to underperformance, many installations only generate 30
40%ofa
-
building
s sanitary hot water supply. This is the result of a moral hazard issue. The
STO states that
'
the application of this ordinance will be done in each case
depending on the best technology available.
“
However, construction companies
often use inferior materials in order to minimize the cost of installing a ST unit.
Furthermore, in the rare event that the city decides to perform an inspection of a ST
unit, the company knows that a
”
ne will not be imposed. The same moral hazard
situation exists for maintenance companies hired for the ongoing operation of an
installation.
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