New financing models for energy efficiency for SMEs

Energy performance contracting is mostly found in the public sector and to a lesser extent in the industrial and commercial building sectors. For this reason, EPC+ set out to experiment the application of this model to SMEs and the results are promising. 

The project set up 18 SME Partnership for Innovative Energy Services (SPIN), which are consortiums of local SMEs with all the required skills to implement EPCs, in the 11 targeted countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Portugal). The SPINs were trained to provide energy efficiency services to SMEs. The project also developed highly standardised energy service packages, easily usable by the SPINs, with simple contract templates developed in the form of a toolbox.

EPC+ supported the signature of 27 energy performance contracts between a SPIN and a client SME. These contracts represent EUR 3.5 million of investments in energy efficiency and 13.37 GWh of primary energy savings. 

The project also created the Energy Efficiency Network Europe platform, which aims to bring together energy supply actors, private companies and ESCOs in one international platform on energy performance contracting.

For more information visit EPC+’s website.