Clean energy actions in Catalonia: Barcelona metropolitan area joins eeef technical assistance programme
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) is the third public authority from Spain that will participate in the Technical Assistance (TA) programme, thus expanding activities of the Fnd's Facility in the autonomous community of Catalonia.
The AMB is the public administration of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, a territorial, social, demographic, economic, and cultural entity formed during the last century as a product of the growth and connection of urban systems around the city of Barcelona. It is the largest metropolitan conurbation in the western Mediterranean, generating half of Catalonia's GDP. It is made up of 36 municipalities. It is centered in the city of Barcelona, less than 100 km south of the border with France. It has a population of around 3,239 337 inhabitants and an area of 636 km2.
From its 36 municipalities, 15 municipalities (Badia del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès, Cervelló, El Papiol, Montcada i Reixac, Montgat, Pallejà, Ripollet, Sant Andreu de la Barca, Sant Climent de Llobregat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, Tiana, Torrelles de Llobregat) presented themselves as candidates for the project. All of them are Members of the Covenant of Mayors and are committed to the EU's climate and energy policy framework.
On 19 June 2023, the eeef and the AMB signed a TA Agreement to develop the project "Energy Efficiency and Maintenance Service for public buildings and street lighting of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona." The objective of this TA is to increase the overall energy efficiency levels and create energy communities in the 15 municipalities of the metropolitan area by providing (i) upgrades of 77 public buildings, (ii) development of energy communities with solar PV systems, (iii) installation of 12 new biomass district heating, and (iv) street lighting retrofit by using LED technology. The AMB seeks to prepare and implement this ambitious investment program to meet local and national strategic objectives in the field of energy efficiency and contribute towards carbon neutrality by 2030 through replicability. The AMS aims to carry out more bankable investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency in its 36 municipalities.
According to a preliminary assessment, the total investment needed to implement the sustainable energy investment programme is circa EUR 11.29m. This will facilitate the AMB to reach the required renovation and energy levels to contribute to the local and national targets. The TA services, provided by experienced consultants, will support the efforts of the Administration's employees to prepare the investment project. Supported services include the preparation of energy audits for 77 public buildings (16 of these buildings will be selected for the development of energy communities through the installation of PV systems), energy audits for public street lighting, and completion of technical studies for biomass district heating. Additionally, the evaluation of the economic viability of the investment, structuring of the tender documents to align with the PPP / ESCO model, external advisors, and legal analysis will be included.
Imma Mayol i Beltran, Director of the Ecology Unit in the AMB, stated "at the AMB we strongly believe that the eeef TA Facility programme is a great tool to carry out a solid ESCO project to promote energy efficiency in public buildings. In this sense, we believe the ESCO model is key to achieving the climate objectives of the city councils by minimizing the financial and human resources invested. Thus, the investment saved can be allocated to other investment programs of the municipality that do not have a direct economic return: such as social services, cultural promotion, public space, etc. Furthermore, conducting an ESCO project within the AMB context promotes economies of scale, allowing investment in all types of buildings and reducing the administrative and technical management required.
eeef encourages other public authorities in Europe to join the Fund's TA Programme. eeef is accepting future applications. Please visit: www.eeef.eu/eeef-ta-facility.html
The European Energy Efficiency Fund (eeef) S.A., SICAV-SIF is a "société d'investissement à capital variable" governed by Luxembourg law and initiated by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Investment Bank. eeef increased the initial capitalisation provided by the European Commission with contributions from the private investors. eeef is an innovative public-private partnership dedicated to mitigate climate change through energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy in the Member States of the European Union.