SAVING ENERGY WITHOUT UPFRONT COST
Large consumers of power are the target market for ESB Smart Energy Services, which over the past five years has delivered energy-saving projects to over 300 large businesses in Ireland and the UK.
Projects span lighting, rooftop solar, heat pump cooling and heating, battery storage, combined heat-and-power systems, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. For firms with an overall energy bill of over €200,000 per year, the initial capital cost of energy-saving initiatives is borne by ESB. Once this is repaid, the business enjoys all the savings.
Ciarán Gallagher, head of Smart Energy Services, says that the attraction of the programme is that it is balance sheet neutral. “With energy savings of up to 60% achievable and no upfront capital costs, this is an opportune time for businesses to go green with the help of ESB expertise and funding. We produce an initial analysis of energy-saving potential at no cost to the client.”
As an example of an SES project, Gallagher cites grocery wholesale and retail group BWG Foods, which implemented a lighting retrofit project across its national distribution centre, cash-and-carry network, corporate headquarters and a number of Spar stores. The annual energy reduction is estimated at up to 6.7GWh, which equates to a total reduction of 4,770 tonnes of CO2.
Energy Management Hub is another Smart Energy Services offering. This is offered on subscription and monitors all energy and water usage in a business’s buildings. “This analysis of energy data can enable large financial and carbon emissions savings,” says Gallagher. “This can be realised through on-thespot changes to energy systems, or through the implementation of larger energy-saving projects.”