Stakeholder workshop: Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings; definition of common principles under the EPBD

Start/Stop Date:
24 Sep 2012
Organiser:
eceee on behalf of the European Commission and the consortium* contracted by the European Commission to define common principles for nearly-zero energy buildings under the EPBD. (*Ecofys, Politecnico di Milano and University of Wuppertal, with various nat
Venue:
Centre Albert Borschette (CCAB), room 4C, rue Froissart 36 - 1040 Bruxelles
Focus Areas:
buildings, energy efficiency
Type of Event:
Conference

Objective
The main objective of the stakeholder workshop is to obtain input into the study "Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings; definition of common principles under the EPBD" and to be able to get feedback on recommendations (e.g. a template for the national plans), preliminary outcomes, etc., from interested parties and experts.

Background
To ensure a successful implementation of the recast EPBD (European Performance of Buildings Directive) by Member States, a number of issues require further clarification and analysis. One of the issues relates to article 9 of the recast EPBD that asks the Member States to ensure that by 31 December 2020, all new buildings are nearly zero-energy buildings and after 31 December 2018, new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities are nearly zero-energy buildings.

Member States also need to draw up national plans to increase the number of nearly zero-energy buildings. These national plans shall describe in detail how Member States define nearly zero-energy buildings, reflecting their national, regional or local conditions, including targets for improving the energy performance of buildings, and any policies and financial or other measures to promote nearly zero-energy buildings. The Commission will evaluate the national plans and shall by 31 December 2012 and every three years thereafter publish a report on the progress of Member States. So far, a common reporting approach for the Member States has not been developed. To facilitate the monitoring and reporting task of the Commission, a common approach for the reporting of national plans is therefore being developed within this project.

An integral part of the project is further to develop an analytical framework on which the Commission can assess the national plans and, if needed, issue recommendations. The project also seeks to develop benchmarks to determine cost-optimal performance levels to be used by Member States for comparison with their current regulations and to set new requirements with a view to achieving at least cost optimal performance levels.

The project will shed light on the relationship between cost-optimality and nearly zero-energy and will develop an argumentation how to ensure a smooth transition/development of polices and markets from one system to the other.

Who can participate in the workshop?

Stakeholders and experts dealing with NZEB issues on a national and/or European level. The amount of participants is limited to approximately 80 participants. Member State official representatives will have one reserved seat each. These seats will be kept until the 17th of September, after which they will be released to other interested participants.

If the number of potential participants greatly exceed the number of seats, the organisers and the Commission reserve the right to make a choice in order to ensure a good mix of experts and stakeholders (for instance to avoid that experts from only a few countries fill up the room).

If you are interested in participating, please:
Send an e-mail to eceee@eceee.org, stating "NZEB workshop" in the subject space
Please give the following information:
- Surname
- Name
- Nationality (this is for the security of the Commission)
- E-mail
- Type of organisation/expertise you represent

- Also, please state if you possess a Commission or Parliament pass card - this will help eceee in putting together a list of participants to be handed to the security).

Programme

When accepted to the workshop you will receive a formal invitation that you will need to show at the Commission's security desk.