Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) in Local Authority Buildings

Codema's Role

Codema facilitated Ireland’s first local authority Energy Performance Contract (EPC) on behalf of Dublin City Council, for three of DCC's leisure centres. This involved management of the procurement process, contract preparation and the gathering of the necessary technical data.

Project Description

Following the commitment to the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) and the Programme for Government 2011-2016, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), together with SEAI, developed the National Energy Services Framework to help develop the energy efficiency market in the non-domestic sector throughout Ireland. As part of this programme, 22 organisations from both the public and private sector were selected as exemplars and committed to delivering an Energy Performance Contract. An EPC is a contractual agreement by an Energy Service Company (ESCo) to guarantee energy savings over an agreed period of time.

Codema facilitated Ireland’s first local authority EPC on behalf of Dublin City Council, for three of DCC's largest leisure centres - namely Markievicz Sports and Fitness Centre, Finglas Sports & Fitness Centre and Ballymun Sports and Fitness Centre. In July 2016, Dublin City Council awarded the EPC to Noel Lawler Green Energy Solutions, who carried out a range of energy-efficiency upgrades in each of the three leisure centres, including, as applicable:

• New LED lighting
• New combined heat and power systems to efficiently heat the swimming pools
• Improved building control systems which to help manage all of the equipment in the centres to ensure that they are working together effectively

The works on the three leisure centres were completed by December 2016, and Codema are now overseeing the project's Measurement & Verification (M&V) process. The project is set to save the council up to €100,000 on its energy and maintenance costs per year, by achieving average energy savings of more than 30 per cent per year.

Codema won Best Energy Service Promoter in the 2017 European Energy Service Awards in May 2017 for our work on this project.