Background

Location: Katowice, Poland

Dates: 2003-2004

Partners: TECH-MORE Consulting, Econoler International, Foundation for Energy Efficiency (FEWE), City of Katowice, Industry Canada (SCI)

Key Issues: Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings

Funders: Natural Resources Canada’s International Initiative for Technology Transfer (CIITT)

Project Description

ICSC and its team of Canadian and Polish partners explored how to help Katowice improve building energy efficiency, save money, and reduce greenhouse gases using ESCOs. The year–long project investigated the barriers and opportunities that Canadian ESCOs could expect to encounter when the decision was made to invest in energy efficiency upgrades to public school buildings. In model Energy Service companies assess the energy demand of a building, evaluate energy saving measures, and guarantee minimum achievable energy savings based on available training and technology. The cost of upgrades is financed through the energy savings; Energy efficiency upgrade projects on municipal buildings using ESCOs can yield numerous benefits including: reduced energy costs, better indoor environments, optimized building equipment life–cycle costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions; private sector investment, and upgraded energy management skills among personnel. The City of Katowice needed to improve the energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions from more than 250 of its schools and many other public buildings, but lacked the necessary funds. The ESCO model represented an opportunity for the City to upgrade its building stock without having to find new money. By the end of the project, ICSC and its partners converted the outputs into a report with detailed terms of reference (TOR) and a business plan for a full–scale energy efficiency project on a cluster of school buildings in the city of Katowice. A ‘roadmap’ for Canadian ESCOs interested in investing in Poland, the TOR and business plan could be used for full–scale projects.