Interview with Jessica Glicker - Project Manager at Buildings Performance Institute Europe
What are the main goals of the AmBIENCe project?
The overall objective of the AmBIENCe project (Active managed Buildings with Energy performaNce Contracting) is to accelerate the transformation of the European building stock in support of the Energy Efficiency Directive by utilising demand response in buildings.
The AmBIENCe project will focus on the potential that active building energy performance contracting (EPC) provides for energy savings projects. The success of AmBIENCe will also contribute to unlocking the potential of public and private markets in energy efficiency and will facilitate Active Building EPCs as a catalyst for the sector.
The Active Building EPC concept and business model extends the traditional energy performance contracting in two key ways: By extending energy performance guarantees related to energy efficiency with those related to the valorisation of flexibility through demand response services, and by extending the scope to groups of buildings.
What will be the highlights of the workshop with which the project will participate during seeSUSTAINtec in April in Sofia?
The workshop will include an overview of the role of demand response in the buildings section and a discussion of the convergence of energy performance contracting and flexibility.
This will be followed by several interactive sessions including a discussion of business models for energy performance contracting and certificates, as well as opportunities for stakeholders (building owners, banks, ESCOs, etc).
Please introduce in brief AmBIENCe partners.
The consortium is composed of eight internationally renowned research partners based in four countries: BPIE (BE), VITO (BE), INESC TEC (PT), EDP CNET (PT), ENEA (IT), EnergInvest (BE), Tekniker (ES) and CEIT (ES). The Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) is the partner responsible for engaging the most relevant stakeholder in the building sector and the commercial partners EDP and Energinvest will establish the main contacts with end-users in the public and private building sector.
Please tell us about the business relation and what would be the real benefits for the companies as a result of the project activities.
The AmBIENCe concept aims to benefit a variety of stakeholders and companies. A few of the key benefits include:
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Improves the accessibility and quality of demand side data for service providers,
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Targets a wider range of building types and makes the process more accessible and clearer to all stakeholders (especially building owners),
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Extends the traditional energy performance guarantee (i.e derived from building insulation levels and the presence of local generation) to also include the additional performance benefits resulting from the active control of flexibility and storage,
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It serves as a proactive business model that enables buildings to access markets where energy system stakeholders compete for flexibility.
