Description
The cheapest way of addressing energy shortage is to improve the use of energy – increasing the energy efficiency. Prospective reduction of the negative impact of energy on the environment in the Slovak Republic can support the increased use of renewable energy sources and promotion of energy saving solutions. Any investment must be preceded by a thought-out plan for long-term reduction of final energy consumption. It should be emphasized that the reduction of energy consumption does not mean the decrease of one’s own potential, decrease of service quality or comfort! Conversely, savings are a prerequisite for future stability of local economy and government activities. EPC, i.e. Energy Performance Contracting, is the recommended energy service, which also provides a method for financing solutions of energy efficiency without excessive burden on the budgets of public administration. The company perspective s.r.o. developed a project together with its partners, which aims to achieve the spread the knowledge of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) to the general public and the introduction of EPC into practice. Interactive portal: Use of information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of provided services makes the communication, as well as the solution of partial tasks, easier and more efficient at the level of individual partners, the whole partnership network, including the awareness zone and education on the issue of energy efficiency and EPC. Another outputs:Conferences and workshops.Cooperation of the applicant and partners consists essentially of a mutual exchange of gathered information.
Summary of project results
The implementation of the project aimed to solve common problems and challenges in the field of energy savings, to implement activities aimed at supporting the development of cross-border investments and innovations in the mentioned issue. The location of the project, the border region, offers a high economic and industrial potential and has all the prerequisites for economic development. This is mainly due to the geographic location at the crossroads of business routes. By using the already mentioned potential of the region, by involving public and private sector entities in the project, on a partnership basis and, last but not least, by creating an efficient budget, a sustainable project with a positive impact on energy, the environment, education and employment has emerged. The project also included training on energy efficiency and EPC itself in the form of 3 workshops and 2 conferences that were prepared for the Slovak and Ukrainian subjects involved in the project as well as for the general public. Within the implemented events, participants were presented with innovative solutions in the field of energy efficiency and EPC. The subject of traditional contracts is often only partial, non-systemic exchanges of obsolete technology. By contrast, the subject of the EPC is a particular type of performance consisting of a combination of construction works, technology delivery and so- guaranteed energy services, which include the preparation, implementation and subsequent long-term monitoring and evaluation of the results of austerity measures. The knowledge and experience of the EPC was shared by participants in the event, discussing the technical issues, analyzing the findings, and looking for new solutions to achieve cost-effectiveness in the operation of buildings. The cooperation of the applicant and the partners consists mainly in the mutual exchange of information obtained. Together, they contribute to the interactive portal so that all the knowledge gained through joint work is publicly available, highly professional and contributing to the professional and general public. From the experience gained so far in the field of EPC, the involvement of foreign partners in the project is the most interesting. Regional differences, the divergence of approaches to energy efficiency, the economic aspect of projects, and, last but not least, the different ways of functioning of the public sector in Slovakia and Ukraine are key factors.
Summary of bilateral results