PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
To achieve the “nearly zero-energy buildings” target set by the European Union, municipalities have significant responsibility in advocating and implementing energy-efficient measures on a local scale. However, local authorities struggle to implement these measures and foster the necessary investment. In this setting, Powering Energy Hub (PEH) aims to accelerate energy efficiency and renewable energy production investments on public and private buildings and infrastructures. The project builds on the tools and knowledge of the H2020 Porto Energy ElevatoR (PEER) consortia and will enlarge the scope of the previous project. Being so, PEH, besides providing technical and legal support regarding the implementation of measures related with improving energy efficiency and renewable energy production, will focus on developing new financial solutions and business models that would attract and facilitate private investment. These models will be mainstreamed by two different approaches: 1) The implementation of a virtual one-stop-shop (OSS) directed to municipalities and municipal companies that will promote investment for public energy efficiency projects. This OSS will be replicated for the national scale through a network of energy agencies; 2) The local OSS (Energy Hubs) that will provide support to private entities and citizens as well as NGOs, enlarging the capacity already established during the PEER project in the Área Metropolitana do Porto a Norte do Rio Douro. All actions will be supported by capacity building, communication and dissemination activities targeted to the various stakeholders, namely local authorities, public and private building owners, project developers, ESCOs and financial institutions. PEH will leverage EUR 26,3 million of investment and leading to 58,5 GWh/year of primary energy savings. In a nutshell, PEH will act as an OSS to public and private entities, promoting energy efficiency investments’ aggregation and fostering alternative financial schemes and legal models.