News: Profile
Opportunities lie with ESOS
By December 05 this year, all businesses in the UK employing over 250 people or
with a turnover in excess of €50m (£38,937,777), will have to conduct an energy
audit, identify possible savings and register on the Energy Saving Opportunity
Scheme (ESOS), writes Tim McLeman, technical director of Wood Energy
SOS is driven by a new piece of European legislation, and
is mandatory, affecting over 9000 large organisations.
Worryingly, many of these companies have not yet taken
action to meet the deadline, and seem unaware of the
benefits that could accrue from reviewing their energy usage and
working to become more efficient.
There are likely to be problems as December approaches, with
the limited supply of energy assessors (less than 500 at the last count)
leading to companies scrambling to get their energy audits completed
in time. The pressure of demand for Lead Assessors could potentially
drive costs up, giving early adopters of the scheme a clear advantage.
The audits can take up to three months to complete once the data has
been collated, which in itself can be a complex and time consuming
task. The audit then has to be repeated every four years, so this
scenario could be repeated unless businesses wake up to the logistics
of the process.
E
Red tape and bureaucracy?
Another issue that has been identified in a recent poll carried out by
business energy consultants, Inenco, is a lack of engagement by senior
managers. This is hardly surprising, given the weight of regulatory
requirements already in place, and the fact that this could easily be
viewed as just another piece of unwanted red tape coming out of
Europe.
term, creating a positive impact on these other requirements at the
same time.
For example, upgrading an outdated heating system with a
biomass boiler could reduce carbon emissions, reduce energy usage
through greater efficiency, reduce costs in the long term and could
even generate income through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).
Bright future
If capital outlay is perceived to be an issue, new boilers can also
be installed under an Energy Supply Contract, or ESCO (not to be
confused with ESOS). ESCOs are particularly suited to high energy
users. Anybody currently on oil or LPG using over 450,000 kW/hrs of
heating energy per annum would make significant cost savings, with a
fully funded and maintained boiler to boot.
Like it or not, ESOS is here to stay, and is mandatory for large
organisations. The whole purpose of the scheme is to drive greater
efficiencies and save energy – surely something that every business
should welcome in order to support sustainable growth. Treating it as
a tick box exercise defeats the object and simply adds to the burden
of management. By raising awareness, highlighting opportunities and
positioning the scheme in a positive light, the renewables industry can
help to shape strategy, drive custom, and ultimately benefit all parties.
Rather than viewing ESOS as yet another
cost and drain on resources, it should be
taken as an opportunity to save costs and
reduce carbon over the long term
The industry should be highlighting the fact that this legislation
is already in place, that it must be complied with, and that there is
a timescale issue. More to the point, it should be talking to large
organisations about how it can help. Rather than viewing ESOS as yet
another cost and drain on resources added to the requirements of the
CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and Climate Change Levy, it should be
taken as an opportunity to save costs and reduce carbon over the long
8 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Fully funded: Complying with new ESOS regulations needn’t be costly as
renewable technologies can be supplied and maintained by Wood Energy
with no upfront capital cost thanks to ESCOs, says the company’s technical
director Tim McLeman