Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SPEEDIER (SME Program for Energy Efficiency through Delivery and Implementation of EneRgy Audits)
Reporting period: 2020-12-01 to 2021-11-30
Article 8 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) requires Member States to set up national incentives to assist SMEs to undertake energy audits. Since SMEs account for 99.98% of European enterprises and are responsible for approximately 13% of total energy demand, it is clear that SMEs have enormous potential to save energy and contribute towards the ability of the EU-27 to achieve their collective targets under the EED of a 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. To date, little of this potential has been realised with studies estimating that only 25% of SMEs in Europe have undertaken an energy audit and a range of studies citing barriers that include lack of time, resource, in-house expertise, finance and the low priority nature of energy efficiency compared to other business needs. It is against this background that the challenges for the SPEEDIER project are set.
SPEEDIER is a highly innovative one-stop-shop solution that applies an integrated approach to energy management, providing information, advice, capacity building, energy auditing, financing, implementation of energy efficiency solutions and monitoring of impacts. The SPEEDIER service will be available via SPEEDIER Experts (Energy consultants, auditors and experts) to whom SMEs will outsource their energy management. SPEEDIER Expert will facilitate the uptake of energy audits, and the subsequent implementation of energy efficiency measures. This removes the barriers of lack of in-house expertise, lack of time, lack of resources and conflicting priorities that would prevent organisations from undertaking energy audits and acting on the recommendations. The overall objectives of the project are listed below:
- To facilitate the uptake of energy audits and implementation of the resulting energy conservation measures in SMEs in each of the 4 pilot regions by offering a programme of outsourced energy management.
- To demonstrate the effectiveness of the self-financing mechanism as a means of driving investment in energy conservation measures among SMEs and large enterprises.
- To enhance the energy culture of SMEs through a series of engagement awareness and capacity building activities leading to SMEs that are fully aware of the multiple benefits of energy auditing.
- To demonstrate the SPEEDIER Service as an innovative & effective tool that can be used by member states to enhance the delivery of Article 8 of the EED in SMEs and large enterprises.
- To increase the skills of the key market stakeholders that will enable the long-term delivery of the SPEEDIER Service beyond the end of the project.
SPEEDIER is a highly innovative one-stop-shop solution that applies an integrated approach to energy management, providing information, advice, capacity building, energy auditing, financing, implementation of energy efficiency solutions and monitoring of impacts. The SPEEDIER service will be available via SPEEDIER Experts (Energy consultants, auditors and experts) to whom SMEs will outsource their energy management. SPEEDIER Expert will facilitate the uptake of energy audits, and the subsequent implementation of energy efficiency measures. This removes the barriers of lack of in-house expertise, lack of time, lack of resources and conflicting priorities that would prevent organisations from undertaking energy audits and acting on the recommendations. The overall objectives of the project are listed below:
- To facilitate the uptake of energy audits and implementation of the resulting energy conservation measures in SMEs in each of the 4 pilot regions by offering a programme of outsourced energy management.
- To demonstrate the effectiveness of the self-financing mechanism as a means of driving investment in energy conservation measures among SMEs and large enterprises.
- To enhance the energy culture of SMEs through a series of engagement awareness and capacity building activities leading to SMEs that are fully aware of the multiple benefits of energy auditing.
- To demonstrate the SPEEDIER Service as an innovative & effective tool that can be used by member states to enhance the delivery of Article 8 of the EED in SMEs and large enterprises.
- To increase the skills of the key market stakeholders that will enable the long-term delivery of the SPEEDIER Service beyond the end of the project.
During first 18 months of the project the following activities have been undertaken.
In WP2, a literature review of existing energy auditing projects for SMEs, energy auditing tool and policies encouraging energy efficiency within SMEs, was undertaken to identify current state-of-the-art in terms of energy management support for SMEs. An online survey was conducted to identify the existing barriers and drivers of energy efficiency in SMEs. Each pilot region also ran a focus group to gather deeper insights into the underlying reasons for the attitudes and opinions of SMEs towards energy auditing. These insights helped to shape and refine the definition of the SPEEDIER Service.
In WP3, the groundwork for developing the SPEEDEIR tool for Experts was prepared through an exercise to characterise SME using parameters such as location, business sectors, building age, orientation etc. These characteristics will be used by the tool to assist with identifying appropriate energy management solutions. This work also categorised energy conservation measures into no-cost, low-cost, medium-cost and high-cost measures and developed a standardised methodology for SPEEDIER energy audits.
In WP4, training materials for SMEs capacity building training and SPEEDIER Experts and SPEEDIER Trainers are also being developed. A web-based version of the SPEEDIER mobile app (to be used as capacity building tool for SMEs) is ready for use by selected SMEs. A Beta version of the SPEEDIER tool for Experts is also ready for use by SPEEDIER Experts to guide them through the delivery of the SPEEDIER Service.
The covid-19 pandemic has made it much harder to engage with SMEs on energy efficiency and has delayed the implementation of the SPEEDIER Service in WP5. Even so, the project team has been able to continue to engage some SMEs by moving most of their activities online. A the end of M18, 10 SMEs in Ireland, 7 SMEs via ESCOs in Italy, 27 SMEs in Spain and 6 SME in Romania are actively engaged to avail of the SPEEDIER Service. The training of SPEEDIER Experts and Trainers in WP 6 has also moved online and the first training event is planned for M19. At the end of M18, 83 Energy Experts have registered their interest in in becoming either a SPEEDIER Expert (75) or SPEEDIER Trainers(8).
Other activities that are currently in progress include: examining the replication potential for SPEEDIER in other Member States outside of the pilot regions; developing a plan to ensure the sustainability of the SPEEDIER Service beyond the end of the project; a range of dissemination and communication activities to ensure that the results from the project reach a broader audience; and the development of a better practice guide to interoperability to ensure that the SPEEDIER tools can easily interact with other tools.
In WP2, a literature review of existing energy auditing projects for SMEs, energy auditing tool and policies encouraging energy efficiency within SMEs, was undertaken to identify current state-of-the-art in terms of energy management support for SMEs. An online survey was conducted to identify the existing barriers and drivers of energy efficiency in SMEs. Each pilot region also ran a focus group to gather deeper insights into the underlying reasons for the attitudes and opinions of SMEs towards energy auditing. These insights helped to shape and refine the definition of the SPEEDIER Service.
In WP3, the groundwork for developing the SPEEDEIR tool for Experts was prepared through an exercise to characterise SME using parameters such as location, business sectors, building age, orientation etc. These characteristics will be used by the tool to assist with identifying appropriate energy management solutions. This work also categorised energy conservation measures into no-cost, low-cost, medium-cost and high-cost measures and developed a standardised methodology for SPEEDIER energy audits.
In WP4, training materials for SMEs capacity building training and SPEEDIER Experts and SPEEDIER Trainers are also being developed. A web-based version of the SPEEDIER mobile app (to be used as capacity building tool for SMEs) is ready for use by selected SMEs. A Beta version of the SPEEDIER tool for Experts is also ready for use by SPEEDIER Experts to guide them through the delivery of the SPEEDIER Service.
The covid-19 pandemic has made it much harder to engage with SMEs on energy efficiency and has delayed the implementation of the SPEEDIER Service in WP5. Even so, the project team has been able to continue to engage some SMEs by moving most of their activities online. A the end of M18, 10 SMEs in Ireland, 7 SMEs via ESCOs in Italy, 27 SMEs in Spain and 6 SME in Romania are actively engaged to avail of the SPEEDIER Service. The training of SPEEDIER Experts and Trainers in WP 6 has also moved online and the first training event is planned for M19. At the end of M18, 83 Energy Experts have registered their interest in in becoming either a SPEEDIER Expert (75) or SPEEDIER Trainers(8).
Other activities that are currently in progress include: examining the replication potential for SPEEDIER in other Member States outside of the pilot regions; developing a plan to ensure the sustainability of the SPEEDIER Service beyond the end of the project; a range of dissemination and communication activities to ensure that the results from the project reach a broader audience; and the development of a better practice guide to interoperability to ensure that the SPEEDIER tools can easily interact with other tools.
A key innovation of SPEEDIER Service is the self-financing mechanism. This novel funding mechanism works by implementing simple no-cost actions first (e.g. raising energy awareness of staff or switching to a cheaper energy supplier), ring fencing the savings from these actions and using them to pay for low, medium or high cost energy efficiency measures and the continued services of the SPEEDIER Expert. The iterative cycle of implementing energy conservation measures, determining the savings against an agreed baseline, ring fencing those savings and reinvesting them into additional measures is the core innovative principle of the SPEEDIER Service that can be applied to both SMEs and large enterprises. The principle is similar to a traditionally Energy Performance Contracting model which is more commonly used by large organisations or public sector bodies, but the process is tailored to the needs of SMEs. The SPEEDIER Expert identifies a package of measures, creates an ongoing relationship with the SME, assists the client to implement the measures, and measures and verifies the savings.
SPEEDIER is expected to save up to 8 GWh/year of primary energy and 1,280 tCO2/year through engaging with 110 organisations participating in SPEEDIER pilot implementation. SPEEDIER will also train 50 SPEEDIER Experts (energy auditors or energy experts) from across the four pilot regions (Ireland, Spain, Italy, Romania). To ensure the longevity of this training scheme 40 SPEEDIER Trainers will also be trained to learn how to successfully train additional SPEEDIER Experts in their own location. This creates a multiplier effect and a direct means for Members States to comply with the provision in Article 8 of the EED to develop programmes to encourage SMEs to undergo energy audits and implement the subsequent recommendations. A Best Practice Guide, a Roadmap for Implementation of SPEEDIER and a series of action plans showing how this initiative can be rolled out across Member States will also be developed as part of the project.
SPEEDIER is expected to save up to 8 GWh/year of primary energy and 1,280 tCO2/year through engaging with 110 organisations participating in SPEEDIER pilot implementation. SPEEDIER will also train 50 SPEEDIER Experts (energy auditors or energy experts) from across the four pilot regions (Ireland, Spain, Italy, Romania). To ensure the longevity of this training scheme 40 SPEEDIER Trainers will also be trained to learn how to successfully train additional SPEEDIER Experts in their own location. This creates a multiplier effect and a direct means for Members States to comply with the provision in Article 8 of the EED to develop programmes to encourage SMEs to undergo energy audits and implement the subsequent recommendations. A Best Practice Guide, a Roadmap for Implementation of SPEEDIER and a series of action plans showing how this initiative can be rolled out across Member States will also be developed as part of the project.