DeliveREE Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) projects

The next project to enter development was the Kildare County Council (KCC) Energy Performance Contract (EPC), which commenced in March 2025. The project encompasses energy efficiency and decarbonisation upgrades across three key buildings: Áras Chill Dara, K Leisure Naas, and K Leisure Athy.

Throughout 2025, the project progressed through the early stages of the project development process, supported by KCC through the facilitation of site access for audits, provision of operational and technical data, and ongoing stakeholder engagement. Following the completion of initial assessments and baseline energy analysis, the project advanced to the Outline Solutions Reporting stage.

As of December 2025, shortlisted Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are actively developing and presenting their outline proposals, setting out projected energy and carbon savings, high-level technical solutions, and performance strategies for each of the buildings. These proposals will form the basis for comparative assessment, refinement of project scope, and the selection of a preferred ESCO to progress to the detailed design and implementation phases in 2026.

The Mid East Energy Unit Multi-Party Framework was established to support the delivery of energy performance projects across the counties of Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth, with a particular focus on smaller public buildings that are often not well-suited to traditional large-scale EPC procurement. The framework provides a structured and accessible route to market for these, enabling energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures to be rolled out across a wider and more diverse public-sector building stock.

The framework documentation and initial building list were issued in early 2025, and the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) stage was successfully completed in April 2025. Following evaluation, a shortlist of suitable Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) was established based on technical capability, relevant experience, financial standing and capacity to deliver works in live public buildings.

Shortlisted tenderers are currently participating in the competitive tender stage to secure places on the framework. This stage includes detailed submissions on delivery methodology, commercial models, governance, measurement and verification approaches, and quality assurance processes. As part of this process, benchmark costs have been developed and tested across a representative sample of building typologies and measures, providing increased cost transparency and value-for-money assurance for participating local authorities. These benchmarks will inform future mini-competitions and support consistent pricing and scope definition once the framework is live.

In parallel, the initial building dataset has been refined, and lessons learned from early engagement with local authorities have been incorporated into the framework documentation to improve clarity, risk allocation, and deliverability. Subject to completion of the tender evaluation and award process, the framework is expected to be established shortly, enabling participating authorities to commence mini-competitions and progress energy performance projects during 2026.