ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award 2011
As in previous years, ManagEnergy recognised several outstanding projects in the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency, with a special focus on the local and regional level.
The ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award ceremony took place during the ManagEnergy Annual Conference 2011, with the awards being presented by Mr Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy.
Tens of high-quality case studies were submitted to ManagEnergy through an open call and went through a rigorous, multi-step evaluation procedure. The projects were judged in terms of their concrete outcomes, their sustainability as well as their potential impact and replicability.
Only six nominees were finally shortlisted by a high-calibre jury, composed of representatives from energy agencies, city networks and sustainable energy industry associations.
There were two award categories:
- Technical projects
- Awareness and information projects
- Speech by Commissioner Günther Oettinger on ManagEnergy and the 2011 Local Energy Action Awards (.pdf)
Commissioner Günther Oettinger surrounded by the two winning and four nominated teams
After presenting the winners with their awards, Commissioner Oettinger closed the ManagEnergy Annual Conference
The award winning projects in these categories were:
- RE:FIT (United Kingdom) (Category ‘Technical projects’)
- I can have solar collectors too! (Croatia) (Category ‘Awareness and information projects’)
The other nominated projects for 2011 were:
Category ‘Technical projects’:
Category ‘Awareness and information projects’:
2011 Winners
Category ‘Technical projects’:
RE:FIT (London Development Agency, UK)
Commissioner Oettinger and the winner from RE:FIT at the awards ceremony in Brussels
RE:FIT is a cost-neutral procurement initiative which allows the public sector to retrofit existing buildings with energy-conservation measures, reduce carbon emissions and achieve substantial annual energy cost savings.
It aims to overcome the two biggest obstacles facing the public sector – capital and capacity. The ‘spend-to-save’ programme transfers the risk of energy savings from improvements onto the energy-service company (ESCO) and guarantees a return over an agreed period.
Buildings retrofitted usinig RE:FIT - Transport for London
The programme streamlines the procurement process by providing pre-negotiated, EU-regulation compliant framework contracts through which a group of pre-qualified ESCOs can undertake the design and implementation of energy-conservation measures.
Around £7 million (€8.1 million) of investment was made by these public-sector participants, yielding annual energy savings of £1 million (€1.16 million) and a reduction of over 5 000 tonnes in carbon emissions.
Category ‘Awareness and information projects’:
Commissioner Oettinger and the winner from 'I can have solar collectors too!' at the awards ceremony in Brussels
I can have solar collectors too! (REGEA – North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency, Croatia)
This project aims to encourage households to install solar energy systems and sets out to create a sustainable financing model at the regional level to support the investments with 40% grants.
The project has been running from 2009 to 2011 in four counties, and several cities and municipalities, in Croatia. Solar thermal collectors were selected according to proven efficiency and technological simplicity. Participating citizens could choose the manufacturer that they preferred and received a refund after the installation had been completed.
Poster of the "I can have solar collectors too!" initiative, and happy participants Zdenko Ladika and Ivica Gojak
After the first phase in 2009, a wider range of renewable energy technologies was available for financial support in 2010: photovoltaic systems, small wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps. So far, 255 solar thermal systems have been installed with grant support.
Households are expected to lower their energy consumption costs for hot water by up to 65%. Annual energy savings are estimated to be around 1 million kWh. Moreover, at least 20% of the solar systems are manufactured in Croatia – a welcome boost to the local economy. All systems were installed by local companies with a sizeable impact on employment.