Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Technical: In general, ESCOs that have participated in the bidding process do
not use a uni
ed protocol to measure and verify energy savings. This makes it
very dif
cult for the AEB to compare bids.
Financial: Many of Barcelona
s public buildings are old and need an integrated
reformation to become energy ef
'
cient, which requires a large investment.
Given the current economic situation and the lack of
nancing sources, not
many ESCOs can carry out such a large project.
Informational: Diagnostic energy audits are performed by the AEB and then
presented to interested ESCOs. Unfortunately, many times the companies claim
that the audit results are not accurate since they do not allow for the desired
pro
t margin. This adverse selection problem prevents many projects from
moving forward.
To overcome some of these barriers, the AEB is taking certain actions. For
example, the energy consumption of sixty (out of the approximately 2000) public
buildings in Barcelona is currently being monitored through a generic, real-time
software platform. The objective is to gather accurate data in order to calculate the
energy consumption baseline for each building, thereby correcting the asymmetric
information problem mentioned above. The agency plans to extend the use of
this software to more buildings in different districts. As a solution for the admin-
istrative problem, the AEB noted that the Consortium for Education of Barcelona
provides a decentralized management which allows education centers more bud-
getary autonomy. This has enabled a number of centers to carry out ESCO projects.
The AEB suggested that this model be replicated for other types of public facilities
in order to increase the number of ESCO projects throughout the municipal building
portfolio [
3
].
4.3 A Case Study: Using the ESCO Model in the Private
Arena
Sol Solar is a Barcelona-based company that designs and installs ST units. The
company recently acted as an ESCO to develop and implement a ST project, con-
sisting of 64.64 m
2
of solar thermal panels, a 1,500 l cistern and a monitoring system,
for a 30 year-old multi-tenant apartment building in the city of Barcelona. The
objective was to reduce by 50
s natural gas consumption used for
the supply of sanitary hot water. The contract stipulates that Sol Solar is responsible
for the installation and maintenance for a period of 6 years as well as guaranteeing
the stated reduction. The form of payment to the company is strictly based on the
amount of natural gas saved as compared to a 2-year baseline level of consumption.
Sol Solar states that, acting as an ESCO, they face many of the barriers previously
described in this analysis, notably informational barriers represented by the in
60 % the building
'
-
uence
of bad references related to unsuccessful installations and the lack of condence
in the way the amortization and savings are calculated. To help overcome these
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