The aim of the Transparense ("Increasing Transparency of Energy Services Markets”) project was to increase trust and transparency throughout the European and national ESCO markets and in particular in Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). (IEE/12/678/SI2.644737)
ESCOs (Energy Service Company) can offer cost-effective energy saving solutions at their clients’ premises while ensuring high technical quality. Quality and the level of energy savings are guaranteed because the ESCO accepts (some level of) financial risk of the investment. At the same time, it has been observed that the ESCO solution appears to be too complicated for clients, they find it hard to develop trust, and an occasional unsuccessful project may hinder the confidence in future ones.
Based on the above, the Transparense project carried out the following activities to overcome these barriers:
The project was supported by the European Union and run between April 2013 and October 2015, with the participation of Czech Republic (project leader), the UK, Slovenia, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Denmark, and Norway.
Project introdutory slides can be read here.