I. Title of the Best Practice
Decision-Making Support for Energy Efficiency Investments
II. Overview of the Best Practice
A. Characteristics of the measure
1. Objectives
Owners of residential or commercial buildings, industrial establishments, local authorities, are often not aware of the investments they could implement to save the energy used for space heating and air conditioning, lighting, processes activity... A wide range of energy saving potentials at low cost remains in these sectors. A public support to audits and diagnostics is an efficient way to reveal these investments opportunities.
2. GHG targeted
CO2 is usually the main targeted gas through energy saving, however HFC emissions prevention in refrigeration activities or air conditioning could also be identified by the audits.
3. public targeted
The measure is dedicated to private owners of buildings, local authorities such as municipalities (owning a large amount of buildings), administrations, small and medium size industrial companies, agriculture. Transport fleets of companies or local authorities are also targeted.
4. Design of the measure
Four levels of diagnostics are implemented, each one with a specific support.
(1) pre-diagnostics : a consultant conducts a two days long expertise about the energy consumption situation of the site (building, factory...) and identify the main uses, equipments, processes to look deeper at. Some investments could be directly identified and recommended to the owner. The public subsidy is 90% of the cost of the study with a ceiling on the cost at 2300 Euros.
(2) diagnostics : a diagnostic is a deeper evaluation of the energy saving potential, eventually induced by a pre-diagnostic. The consultant realizes a study identifying the different investments to be implemented with the rate of return of each one. The public support is 50% of the cost of the diagnostic with a ceiling on the cost at 30 000 Euros.
(3) Feasibility study : The study objective is to assess the technical and economical feasibility of a specific investment already identified as energy saving potential. The study should present the financial plan for the investor with economic ratios. The public support is 50% with a ceiling on the cost at 75 000 Euros.
(4) Energy orientation advice : such studies are designed for owners of several buildings or sites (as local authorities, municipalities...) ; the energy orientation advice stresses a global situation of the energy consumption for the owner (quantities, costs) and gives some orientations about the management of energy and the identification of buildings or uses to examine more deeper through diagnostics. The public support is 70% of the study with a ceiling on the cost at 75 000 Euros.
B. Reasons for inclusion as a Best Practice
A deep evaluation of the audit support scheme implemented in industry by the French Agency for Energy Efficiency in 1990 and 1991 demonstrated that the measure had turned out to be cost-effective for the community.
During this two years period 21,5 Millions Francs had been dedicated by the Agency to the subsidies for diagnostics in industry and 400 industrial establishment had benefited of the measure.
The staff of the agency added a value added to the diagnostics reports through advices to the companies.
The evaluation stressed several points :
- In 90% of cases the diagnostic had a real impact on the decision taken by the company (in term of investments, organization, management...)
- 75% of companies had invested after the diagnostic. The investments implemented had a pay back time below 3 years and the ratio between the subsidy and the investments implemented is 0.13
- The measure is economically efficient since the cost for the public state budget was 500 Francs to save 1 toe/year for the life time of the investment (the cost of 1 toe was estimated at 1250 F in average in 1990).
The measure figures in the new plan launched in 1999 to reduce CO2 emissions in the different sectors targeted.
III. Categorizing the Best Practice
1. classification : incentive
2. social actors involved :
3. Sectors
4. Target (Greenhouse Gases)
IV. List of Attachments
La Maîtrise de l'Energie : rapport d'évaluation ; Comité interministériel d'évaluation des politiques publiques- Premier Ministre Commissariat Général du Plan. La Documentation Française 469 pages 1998
V. Contacts
F. Moisan Director of strategy and Communication
ADEME : Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie
27 Rue Louis Vicat, 75015 Paris France. |
