by Shane Henson — July 22, 2013—The U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recently unveiled proposals on how large firms within the country will have to assess energy efficiency of their buildings and operations.
The government is proposing an Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) to help transpose the E.U. Energy Efficiency Directive into U.K. law. The directive requires firms to identify cost-effective ways to invest in energy efficiency and reduce energy bills via an audit by December 5, 2015, to be repeated every four years. The government says the project, which it has opened for consultation, will help businesses save up to £1.9 billion.
The program will apply to non-SMEs (small and medium enterprises), which will include companies, partnerships, charitable organizations and some universities with 250 employees or more and gross revenues (turnover) of more than 50 million. SMEs that are part of larger corporate groups may also be subject to the scheme. Public bodies will not be included, says the U.K. government.
According to the government, the assessments must include reviews of energy consumption of buildings, industrial operations and installations and transportation. They should use a life cycle analysis where possible, identify recommendations for energy efficiency improvement across the organization as a whole, and be transferrable to any energy service provider, according to the proposals.
Audits must be carried out by qualified and/or accredited experts or implemented and supervised by independent authorities. The consultation notes that the appropriate way to audit organizations will vary considerably. The government suggests that, to minimize the cost of compliance, organizations would be allowed to use energy data collected under other existing programs such as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, the E.U. Emissions Trading System, and mandatory greenhouse gas reporting.
Green Deal Assessments or Display Energy Certificates for buildings could be deemed to provide compliance, while industrial process data from Climate Change Agreements could also be used. A Green Fleet Review could be compliant with the transport requirement of the ESOS, the consultation proposes.
The consultation will close on October 3, 2013. The government intends to bring forward secondary legislation in spring 2014 setting out the legal framework for the operation of the program, so that the U.K. can meet the June 5, 2014, E.U. deadline for transposition of the Energy Efficiency Directive.
