Potential of energy performance contracting for tertiary sector energy efficiency and sustainable energy projects in southern European countries

Flexible market mechanisms, such as Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), can help to overcome financial barriers towards the EU targets. Despite the huge energy efficiency potential, the EPC market is still underdeveloped in several Southern European countries; flagship projects in the tertiary sector are rare. National demand for EPC in six countries (Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) was analysed, by interviewing over 180 stakeholders, showing that large buildings are of great interest for EPC providers. There are still several bottlenecks to overcome for the wide adoption of EPC projects: insufficient knowledge and skills, difficult access to financing, lack of specialized bank products, high guarantees and interest rates, scarce examples and lack of standardization practices/certification. Possible EPC applications in tertiary sector buildings in Greece are presented. Scenarios involving passive and active solutions, as well as renewable energy systems, are studied through a standardized approach.