Latest developments of the ESCO industry across Europe

Benigna Kiss, Central European University, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Hungary
Paolo Bertoldi, European Commission, DG Joint Research Center, Italy
Silvia Rezessy, Central European University, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Hungary

Keywords

Energy Service Companies, ESCO, financing energy efficiency, Energy Performance Contracting, EPC, Europe, EU

Abstract

A pan-European survey of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) carried out in 2006 pointed at significant changes in some national markets over the last few years. ESCO markets across Europe show a particular degree of diversity. Some countries have a consolidated market (Hungary), in others the market is still immature without significant change (Estonia, Portugal), is just taking off the ground (Greece, Ireland) or is undergoing expansion (Italy, Austria), even boom (Czech Republic).

The present paper reviews the status of the ESCO market on a country-by-country basis, building on the “Energy Service Companies in Europe – Status Report 2005”, published by the European Commission DG Joint Research Center. The ESCO Status Report 2005 gave an overview of the ESCO concept, and a synopsis of the state-of-the-art in the EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The present work aims at investigating the specific situation in each Member State of the enlarged European Union (EU27) in greater depth, and adds a description of new Candidate Countries (Croatia and Turkey), and other European countries (Norway, Switzerland, non-EU South-Eastern Europe and the European part of the Commonwealth of Independent States), adding up to a review of 40 countries.

The paper provides an overview of national ESCO market indicators, such as the number of ESCOs, market size estimates, most common project types and preferred clients. Based on these, recent developments on the national ESCO markets are analyzed; the analysis sheds light on the drivers of change and specific barriers and factors behind the success for ESCO markets. Based on the findings of the survey, an analysis is made of the role and status of ESCOs, and recommendations are proposed on how to promote ESCO markets.