The final conference of EnerSHIFT: “Innovative financial models for the energy retrofit of Public Residential Building” was held in Genoa on November 22nd in the Sala dei Chierici of the Berio Library.
A moment of discussion to take stock of the opportunities of an innovative project which promoted the energy refurbishment of 76 buildings housing around 3,000 families, with interventions to be implemented both with E.P.C. – awarded with specific tenders for concession of services – and with the contributions provided by the regional ERDF- Regional Operative programme 2014-2020.
The meeting, accredited by the professional associations of architects, engineers and lawyers, saw the presence of the project partners, the representatives of similar Italian experiences and the market operators.
An interesting opportunity for discussion and in-depth study on energy efficiency strategies for public bodies and professionals, as well as on financial and legislative instruments available for implementing the retrofitting measures.
Arch. Silvia Risso, Manager of the “Urban Development Project” department of the Liguria Region, opened the works, brought the greetings from the regional Councilor Marco Scajola and highlighted the importance of the activities carried out by the project with a view to replicating the territory. In fact EnerSHIFT, an acronym for Social Housing Innovative Financial Tender for Energy, was the first initiative at national level to deal with the energy requalification of Social Housing buildings using innovative and replicable financing instruments such as Energy Performance Contracts.
Following, there was a video contribution of Christophe Milin, EASME Project Adviser, who expressed the appreciation of the European Commission for the results achieved by EnerSHIFT and for the role of “forerunner” that it had at national level for the dissemination of EPCs in the ESCo market.
The conference therefore got to the heart with the intervention of Arch. Giuseppe Sorgente of Liguria Region, project coordinator, who illustrated the obstacles encountered during a four-year project journey and the related solutions developed by the partners of EnerSHIFT to achieve the targets set by the contract with the EU. In summary these are the final figures: investments for a total of over 13 million euros which, once completed, will allow energy savings of around 50%, for a total of 11.5 GWh / y, lower estimated expenditure for residents between 4% and 5% and a decrease of almost 2,350 tons of CO2.
Hence, Eng. Giovanni Spanu, manager of ARTE Genova and representing the other Ligurian Social Housing Associations, provided an interesting overview on Public Residential Building in Italy and retraced its evolution, highlighting the current critical issues and problems and explaining how the project activities have tried to meet the numerous needs of this sector. He then presented the results of the two EPC tenders, the one for the province of Genoa and the one for the provinces of Savona, La Spezia and Imperia, and gave updates on the progress of the energy retrofitting works co-financed by the funds of the ERDF funds.
The activities of involvement of the tenants and the tasks of the tenants’ unions were then explained by Livio Di Tullio, Secretary of SUNIA Genova and also representing SICET and UNIAT, who pointed out the reasons that led the Unions to be partner of a European project for the first time and highlighted the positive outcomes of this experience.
The debate then became more technical with the intervention of the lawyer Luca Geninatti Satè, Professor at the University of Eastern Piedmont and legal consultant of the project, who dealt with the application of the EPC model in the public sector by examining the different forms and tools that can be used by a Public Body to define a contractual model for the Concessions of Services pursuant to the National Code of Public Contracts (Legislative Decree 50/2016).
At the center of the report of Dr. Roberta Casapietra, Project Manager of IRE SpA, were instead the different types of European contributions and financial instruments suitable for the building requalification in Public Administrations, a theme more than ever of interest for all the Entities intending to provide for the efficiency of their residential and non-residential assets.
Dr. Claudia Carani, Project Manager of AESS Modena, illustrated the results of LEMON, a H2020 European project similar to EnerSHIFT which operated in Emilia Romagna. A very useful comparison to evaluate an alternative approach to the topic of EPCs in the public sector, awarded in this case through service contracts and which could also count on the direct economic contribution from the administrations involved.
A further experience was brought by Eng. Massimiliano Varrucciu, Energy Manager of the Municipality of Genoa and head of the GEN-IUS project, funded by the EIB through the ELENA programme. The project, which is currently preparing the tenders for the ESCo, aims to create energy districts belonging to an extensive number of partner entities within the Genoa Metropolitan Area, having as its objectives the energy requalification of public buildings integrated with home automation elements, and the energy efficiency of approximately 16,000 public lighting systems.
The Italian national market and the role of ESCos in EPC contracts were the themes at the heart of the speech of Eng. Paolo Bonello, Commercial Director of Iren Smart Solution and winner of the EPC concession tender in the province of Genoa. This was an opportunity to listen also to the point of view of the players of a constantly evolving market, which led to interesting considerations and offered numerous food for thought.
The working day was concluded by Eng. Dario Di Santo, Director of FIRE Italy – Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy – and expert in renewable sources and energy efficiency, who summarized the topics covered during the conference and complimented the project partners for the work done and the results achieved.
