GREENER-EX PROJECT: Global Roadmap for Energy Efficiency in Extremadura [ES]

GREENER EXTREMADURA is a project developed by AGENEX and funded by the ELENA programme from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The project aims to develop the strategy for investments in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy sources (RES) in the Extremadura region.

Greener-ex emerged from the necessity of establishing a multi-level coordination between the parts that promote EE and RES investments in Extremadura, from the local level to the regional, national and European levels.

With this project, AGENEX supported more than 200 municipalities, County Councils from Cáceres and Badajoz, and the Extremadura regional government in accessing the funds where it is required. These entities benefited from lower energy costs and new installations.

Background

Extremadura region is formed by a great number of municipalities. This entailed positive aspects, such as the availability of grants and subsidies at disposal of the municipalities, as well as challenges, such as the lack of technical specialised staff and the lack of knowledge on EPC contracts and bundling projects.

Development

The project identified 3 different levels of focus (Regional, Municipalities with more than 20.000 inhabitants and Municipalities below that amount).

Level 1 addressed the Regional Government and 2 County Councils. Focusing mainly on working in buildings, bundling process that could be implemented within the same institution and ESCO model.

Example of assistance: ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE OF THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT. AGENEX provided technical assistance during the preliminary data compilation, preliminary studies, technical design and documents/reports for the bidding process. AGENEX also participated in the tender preparation, the evaluation committee and the supervision of the contract´s fulfilment. The first invitation for bidding was the refurbishment of “La Granadilla” elderly home, which was launched in June 2018, while the works were carried out between February and September 2019, with a total investment of 308.550,00 €

The Level 2 focuses on Municipalities over 20.000 inhabitants, looking for launching tenders on their own without bundling.

Example of assistance: PUBLIC LIGHTNING IN THE CITY OF BADAJOZ. The project provided technical assistance and support to the technical staff of the city hall, and assistance during the proposal for Jessica Funds. 23.364 street’s lamps were refurbished and improvement of control panels together with a point to point management system was implemented. It resulted on 70% of reduction of energy consumption and emissions. The total investment of 10,260,000 € was financed by Jessica Funds.

The 3^rd Level managed Municipalities under 20.000 inhabitants by bundling several municipalities and individual contracts for street lightning ESCO model.

Example of assistance: DISTRICT HEATING IN MONTERRUBIO DE LA SERENA. Assistance in the definition of the technical project, the bidding process and the supervision of the works was provided. Results proved that 0,56 GWh/year of renewable energy was produced and 148 tCO2 /year were avoided. The district heating, fed by biomass and covering several municipal buildings was finished in summer 2015. The total investment was 126.487,60 € including the heat network, the boiler rooms and all the necessary equipment.

Example of assistance: ESCO CONTRACT FOR STREET LIGHTNING IN JEREZ DE LOS CABALLEROS. Assistance in energy studies, award of the contract and supervision of the implementation of the contract was facilitated. 2.487 street lamps and ornamental lightning and control centres were renovated. The results show energy savings of 1.129 MWh/year and a reduction of CO2 emissions of 450,41 ton/year. Value of the contract 1.020.000 €.

Conclusions

For the Regional level (level 1), there were big efforts dedicated to advising the regional government about ESCO contracts for their buildings. The pace was very slow due to the calculation of debt of the ESCO contracts that public administrations would need to pay, and the complexity of the model and the lack of knowledge about it. The slowness of the Public Administration’s procedures and decision-making hindered the progress of the project. The big amount of buildings and lack of technical staff in the administrations, resulted in an absence of resources to invest in planification.

Municipalities bigger than 20.000 inhabitants of level 2, progressed at a good pace thanks to the possibility of financing the projects through JESSICA funds and national grants. AGENEX provided technical assistance during each step. They carried out the technical, economic, administrative analysis and generated the documentation during the tender process and they monitored the works. A similar process was followed in many cases with grants for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency in buildings.

In the case of Municipalities with less than 20.000 inhabitants, the bundling of municipalities did not happen due to changes in the political team of the county council. Yet, the county councils, with the help of the Technical Assistance, achieved to manage both the funding application and the further development of the bidding process.

Next steps

The project has allowed the Regional Government of Extremadura to develop an Energy Efficiency Plan for the Public Buildings with the support of AGENEX. The idea is to extend the technical support provided and take advantage of a large part of the work already done.

Due to the work done, the Regional Government approved the launch of tenders for ESCO contracts in its buildings and hospitals. AGENEX is also working with the government on an e-mobility plan using the experience acquired through the project. Greener-EX has positioned AGENEX in the local and regional administrations as the institution of reference for technical assistance in energy projects.

Contact: Daniel Encinas, Technical Coordinator AGENEX, dencinasagenex [dot] org (dencinas[at]agenex[dot]org)