This section provides an overview of implementation of Article 7, EED from the EU level, in particular drawing on analysis undertaken within the ENSPOL project, but also other sources, including the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre and the Coalition for Energy Savings.
- Status quo of Article 7 implementation in the EU
- Contribution of alternatives & EEOs to the total energy saving target
- Existing Energy Efficiency Obligation schemes in the EU
- Alternative policy measures in the EU
- Under the microscope: alternative policy measures in eight selected countries
Status quo of Article 7 implementation in the EU
Almost all Member States (MS) have opted for alternative measures: 24 out of 28 MS have relied exclusively on alternative measures, or a combination of alternative with EEOs. The reason for that is the high degree of flexibility of a variety of alternative measures to opt for as well as increased familiarity, since all MS countries have already implemented similar schemes.
The map below presents the current status of implementation of EEOS across the EU. For some MS the development of the details of the planned EEOS are still in progress.
Puerto Rico
Poland
Pakistan
Philippines
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Panama
Oman
New Zealand
Nepal
Norway
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Niger
New Caledonia
Namibia
Mozambique
Malaysia
Mexico
Malawi
Mauritania
Mongolia
Myanmar
Mali
FYROM
Madagascar
Montenegro
Moldova
Morocco
Libya
Latvia
Luxembourg
Lithuania
Lesotho
Liberia
Sri Lanka
Lebanon
Laos
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
South Korea
North Korea
Cambodia
Kyrgyzstan
Kenya
Japan
Jordan
Jamaica
Italy
Iceland
Iran
Iraq
India
Israel
Ireland
Indonesia
Hungary
Haiti
Croatia
Honduras
Guyana
Guinea Bissau
Guatemala
Greece
Equatorial Guinea
Guinea
Gambia
Greenland
Ghana
Georgia
United Kingdom
Gabon
France
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Finland
Ethiopia
Spain
Eritrea
Egypt
Estonia
Ecuador
Algeria
Dominican Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Germany
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Cuba
Costa Rica
Colombia
China
Cameroon
Chile
Ivory Coast
Switzerland
Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Canada
Belize
Botswana
Bhutan
The Bahamas
Brazil
Bolivia
Brunei
Benin
Burundi
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Belgium
Bangladesh
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Azerbaijan
Australia
Austria
Argentina
Angola
Armenia
Albania
United Arab Emirates
West Bank
Portugal
Paraguay
Qatar
Romania
Republic of Serbia
Russia
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Solomon Islands
Sudan
Sweden
Slovenia
Slovakia
Sierra Leone
Senegal
Somalia
Suriname
South Sudan
El Salvador
Syria
Swaziland
Chad
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Togo
Thailand
Tajikistan
East Timor
Turkmenistan
Tunisia
Turkey
Trinidad and Tobago
Taiwan
Tanzania
Ukraine
Uganda
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Vanuatu
Yemen
South Africa
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Northern Cyprus
Kosovo
Somaliland
Western Sahara
French Guiana

Figure 1: Overall assessment of MS options to achieve savings
The main updates regarding the choices of countries to comply with their Article 7 requirements, as notified by the revised notification reports (submitted November 2014) can be summarized as follows:
- Ireland has adopted an EEO scheme in combination with alternative measures.
- Slovakia chose to comply only through the implementation of alternative policy measures.
- Lithuania, Estonia updates in their notification report clarify that both countries have opted for a combination of EEO with auxiliary measures.
- Luxembourg has opted to comply solely based on an EEO scheme.
- Finally Greece has decided to implement an EEO scheme, however the contribution to the final saving target has not yet been specified.
Further reference
The Member State notifications relating to Article 7 EED (and in some instances updates to these) are published on the European Commission’s website. Click here to go to the relevant page.
The European Commission commissioned a study “Evaluating the national policy measures and methodologies to implement Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive”. Ricardo AEA led a consortium (CE Delft and REKK) to undertake the study which was published in March 2015. Click here to view the full report.
Contribution of alternatives & EEOs to the total energy saving target
Alternative policy measures are a popular choice for many EU Member States to achieve their target. 24 MS have opted for those measures, using over 350 different types of measures in total, in favor of the logic of building on what exists rather than introducing a major new type of policy. Despite the significant number of alternative measures, the contribution of the latter to the total saving target is approximately 60% with EEOs contribute to the remaining 40%.
The figure below shows the relative share of EEOs in the overall targeted savings for 2020 along with the contribution of alternative policy measures. On the left-hand side are countries opting wholly for EEOs while on the right-hand side are countries opting for alternative policy measures and placed in the middle are countries opting for a combination of the two. Note that a number of countries, which are proposing to deliver significant savings from EEOs, are introducing this policy for the first time. Those counties, which have an existing, well-established EEO are Denmark, France, Italy and the UK. Poland has had also an existing EEO scheme in operation, although this is currently undergoing extensive revision.
Existing Energy Efficiency Obligation schemes in the EU
The European Commission DG Energy study Evaluating the national policy measures and methodologies to implement Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (Ricardo AEA, CE Delft and REKK; February 2015) indicates clearly that “Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes (EEOs) are the most important type of policy measure adopted by MS in terms of energy savings – 40% of the expected cumulative energy savings across all MS are expected to be generated from the implementation of EEOS, far more than any other type of policy measure”.
The following table summarizes important characteristics of the current schemes. In the country level pages of this platform, the schemes are described in detail for each country individually.
UK (since 1995) |
France (since 2006) |
Italy (since 2005) |
Poland (since 2005) |
Flanders (2003-2012) |
Denmark (since 1990) |
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Design EEO |
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|
|
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Target setting |
Mt CO2 savings over lifetime Heat cost reduction for vulnerable households |
kWh “Cumac” final energy savings over lifetime taking an in-use factor (4%) in to account |
2005-2013: Mtoey early , primary energy savings Since 2013: million of white certificates, incl. lifetime |
Why early, final energy savings |
First-year, primary energy savings |
First year, final energy savings |
Type of measures |
Mainly subsidies |
Energy Saving Certificates; incentives to consumers as low interest loans or primes |
White Certificates |
Energy Efficiency Certificates |
Financial support (premiums) and information campaigns |
Mainly advice and subsidies |
Scope sector |
Households |
All final consumers, but mainly households. |
All final consumers, except electricity generation. Mainly industry. |
Households, commercial and industry |
All final consumers, but mainly households |
All final consumers, , but mainly industry and households |
Obligated parties |
Gas and Electricity suppliers |
Suppliers of gas, electricity, LPG, heating oil and district heating/cooling. Also whole salers of auto gas and gasoline/diesel |
Electricity and natural gas distributors |
Energy companies selling gas, electricity and heat |
Electricity distributors |
Grid and distribution companies for electricity, gas, district heating and oil |
Administrator |
Of gem, regulatory body electricity and gas market |
DGEC (Directorate General for Energy and Climate) and PNCEE (National Authority for Energy Saving Certificates) |
GSE operating WhC scheme, GME providing WhC market platform |
MoE (Ministry Economy): general supervision, ERO (Energy Regulation Office): operational role |
VEA (Flemish Energy Agency) |
Technical Working Group |
Flexibility |
Transfer between suppliers or between scheme phases |
Fungibility; eligible parties; trading; bankability between periods; transfer between parties |
Trading, bankability |
Trading, substitution fees |
Transfer between years |
Transfer between years and between parties |
Results EEO |
See detailed description per member state |
Planned / new EEOs in the EU
The ENSPOL project has undertaken an analysis of planned and new EEO schemes based on MS notifications to the European Commission and in consultation with key stakeholders in each of the countries opting to introduce new schemes. The table below summarizes the key characteristics of these schemes. From the table it is clear that the current descriptions (as per the MS notifications) of the actual design of these schemes is limited. The ENSPOL stakeholder consultation within MS indicated that the actual implementation of EEOs is still likely to change compared to the original concept. We therefore want to emphasize that this information describes the situation in the MS as it was known by December 2014. The ENSPOL project plans to update this information in early 2016.
Improving energy efficiency is the main driver for the new EEO schemes, in contrast to existing schemes like the UK where CO2 savings and limiting fuel poverty are also important. The main obligated parties are energy suppliers, followed by energy distributors who will realize efficiency improvement in different end-use sectors. Most MS allow obligated parties to generate savings in all end-use sectors, but the residential sector is often indicated as a preferred sector. Concerning the flexibility mechanism, trading of certificates/credits is often allowed, at least as an option, although the trading conditions are not yet described in detail.
(Scroll vertical the table below to see table's full content)
Country | Spain | Malta | Lithuania | Estonia | Slovenia | Austria | Ireland | Bulgaria | Hungary | Luxembourg | |
Policy objectives of EEO | Improve energy efficiency in frame of EED | Improve energy efficiency by reducing primary energy consumed. | Final concept of EEO is still unclear. Improve energy efficiency, reduce the negative impact on the environment | EEO is a considered option to maintain final energy consumption at 2010 level | Reduce final energy savings | Achieve final energy savings targets in frame of EED | To stimulate an active and cost-effective market for energy savings. | 2014-2020: 647,50 ktoe final energy savings | Final concept of EEO is not available; Final energy savings in frame of EED | Improve energy efficiency in frame of EED | |
Design of EEO | |||||||||||
Target (savings) per year | ktoe final energy savings per year. | 2014-2020: GWh annual primary energy savings | No targets so far. General compliance with EED targets. | No targets set so far | 2014-2020: GWh yearly final energy savings | PJ total final energy savings over lifetime | GWh yearly primary energy savings ; three-year cycles | Not proposed at this stage. General compliance with EED. | Not available so far. General compliance with EED. | GWh final energy savings over lifetime | |
Scope - sector related | All sectors | Electricity consumers (households) | Mainly buildings and the industry, but focus unclear | All end-users sectors, besides transformation, distribution and transformation sectors | Households and commercial sector, incl. transport | All end-use sectors, but focus on households | Non- residential (75%), residential (20%) and energy poverty households (5%) | All end-use sectors, besides transformation, distribution and transmission sector | Not available so far | All end-user sectors, incl. transport | |
Type of measures | 1st period: financial equivalent to savings will be paid by obligated parties to the National Energy Efficiency Fund. At a later stage: white certificates | Smart metering system & behavioral change from 2016; Progressive rising block tariff system from 2014 discouraging overuse; Free audits | Not proposed at this stage | Investment support; Contributions to the Energy Efficiency National Fund; information activities;… | Linked to financial mechanism "Eco-Fund" financing investments in energy efficiency | Different types of incentives | Energy Credits for realised Primary Energy Savings. Grants mainly at the residential sector. Energy Efficiency National Fund for non-residential sectors and energy performance contracting. | Not described so far | Not available so far | Financial assistance and advice/audits to consumers | |
Obligated parties | All traders of electricity, gas, liquefied petroleum gases and wholesalers operators of oil products, inclusive transport | Enemalta Corporation(monopoly electricity distributor) | Electric DSOs; Gas company; District heating companies | Energy distributors or retail energy sales companies in gas, electricity and district heating | Suppliers of electricity, heat, gas and liquid and solid fuels to final customers. | Retail energy sales companies of all energy carriers | Energy suppliers and retail energy sales | Energy traders, excl. transport | Not available so far | All electricity and gas suppliers | |
Administrator | Managing authority: IDAE (Institute for Diversification and Saving of Energy) | Ministry for Energy and the Conservation of Water | Lithuanian Ministry of Energy – Coordinator of EEO Scheme,The Lithuanian Energy Agency – Administrator of EEO Scheme | Competition Authority | Responsible for the administration, report and verification of energy savinsg under the Scheme is the Slovenian Energy Agency. | A monitoring and control body "Monitoringstelle" will be installed | Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) | National Sustainable Energy Development Agency | Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority | Ministry of Economy | |
Penalty regime | Yes, exact level to be specified | Not proposed at this stage | Not proposed at this stage | Not proposed so far | Penalty foreseen but not specified, weighed based on infringement degree. | 0,20 €c per missing kWh | Penalty set at multiple of 1.25 of the buyout price across all sub- sectors | None proposed so far | Not available so far | Yes, lower then 2€/MWh | |
Allocation of costs | Not specified at this stage | No cost recovery allowed. Enemalta will finance the smart meter roll-out. | Full cost recovery will be allowed | Not specified at this stage | Passed through the costumers via energy price. These funds will be transferred to the Eco-Fund. | Cost recovery is not regulated in the Energy Efficiency Act | Not specified at this point, although expected that costs will be passed through to consumers via energy price. | Not available so far | Not available so far | Cost recovery is allowed | |
Flexibility | Certificates will be tradable if/when they will be implemented. | None proposed so far (trading is not relevant since one obligated party) | Not proposed at this stage | Not proposed at this stage | Flexiblity of financing: carry out measures or making payment to EcoFund | Tendering and bilateral trading are possible | Exchange of Energy Credits between obligated parties. Buyout option up to a maximum of 30% of total cumulative target. Banking of savings. | Not available so far | Not available so far | Fungibility; Transfer between parties and years; Third parties | |
Energy poverty | None proposed so far | None proposed so far | None proposed so far | Not proposed at this stage | None proposed at this stage. | Uplift by factor of 1.5 for savings achieved in energy poor households | 5% of the target to be realised in households in fuel poverty | None proposed so far | Not available so far | None proposed so far |
Alternative policy measures in the EU
The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) permits the delivery of part or the entire target by alternative measures that have the effect of reducing end-use consumption (Article 7.9). These are categorized in
- Energy or carbon taxes
- Financing instruments or fiscal incentives
- Regulations or voluntary agreements
- Standards and norms
- Labeling schemes, compliant with the EU labeling framework Directive 2010/30/EU and conform to the principle in the EU energy label that sets requirements for energy-related products with the highest energy savings potential and last but not least
- Training and education reducing end-use energy consumption.
The ENSPOL project has undertaken an analysis of the different alternative policy measures notified to the European Commission by Member States . The figure below indicates the number of notified types of policy measures for each country.
Unsurprisingly, traditional financial schemes dominate with most measures proposed by MS being of a financial nature, in the form of grant schemes and low-interest loans, outnumbering other options in each country. Characteristic cases are countries such as Croatia proposing mostly financial schemes except for two measures, while Cyprus, Greece and Belgium have the largest number of financial schemes proposed.
Financial/Fiscal schemes have thus a leading position among the sum of measures proposed making up more than 40% of the total number of measures. All MS have adopted at least one financial scheme.
Classification of the different types of policy measures across MS countries
*Lack of information about certain measures
** Lack of information about the majority of the measures for those countries
Under the microscope: alternative policy measures in eight selected countries
The ENSPOL project has undertaken a more detailed analysis of alternative policy measures as notified in the following eight countries: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
A more detailed classification of measures promoting access to finance to meet the 2020 energy saving targets in the eight Member States evaluated is presented in the figure below. The introduction of those measures is comparatively easier than regulatory measures, in terms of policy (re-)design, although most of them require ongoing funding to operate. The numbers in the figure indicate the number of notified policy measures promoting access to finance for each country.
Classification of financial and regulations measures promoting access to finance
Measures promoting access to finance are usually proposed as grants in the form of equity or to subsidize loans, and fiscal measures (including Tax-reliefs). Less utilized measures are direct investments in the form of public procurements, 3rd party financing and direct investments for Research, Development and Demonstration. For the latter case only Austria directly supports research and development projects through the Climate and Energy Fund that encourages research projects in the fields of local and regional public passenger transport, the environmentally friendly carriage of goods and mobility management.
Regulatory measures also seem like a favorable option for MS countries, with UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece, Austria and Germany including them in the mix of measures to comply with Article 7. These are usually adopted in the form of tightening of building regulations for new and existing buildings (e.g. Greece, the Netherlands and especially UK with four measures proposed), minimum standards of energy performance equipment (e.g. Greece, the Netherlands, UK) and requirements to undertake energy audits (e.g. UK and Sweden).
Apart from more traditional measures promoting access to finance, Article 20(6) also prescribes that:
‘MS may provide that obligated parties can fulfil their obligations set out in Article 7(1) by contributing annually to the Energy Efficiency National Fund an amount equal to the investments required to achieve those obligations.’
Quite a few MS have adopted National Energy Efficiency Funds, interpreting the term in various ways, hence increasing the risk of overlaps and double-counting of savings with other co-existing financial schemes. A DG Energy study evaluating the national policy measures and methodologies to implement Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (Ricardo AEA, 2015) stated that Spain is the only country that has adopted a National Fund to supplement the operation of the EEO as described with Article 20(6). This may indicate a greater risk of policy overlaps for other type of funds implemented in combination with other measures. The Spanish Energy Efficiency Fund will be financed directly through the financial equivalent paid by obligated parties to comply with their energy efficiency obligations. In fact limiting the EEO compliance options to the payment of a financial equivalent reassures the viability of the Fund. France has set-up a fund for energy renovations to guarantee green loans for banks and ensure low-cost financing for households. The Guarantee fund is set up in parallel with the 3rd period of the EEO (2015-2017). EEO obligated parties will be able to fulfil part of their obligation by contributing to this fund.
Support for the human agency including information, education, advice, energy management and best practice dissemination programmes are present in most country plans opting for alternatives. Sweden is a typical case that introduces four measures of this type. These are all training and educational measures aiming to increase skills particularly in the public sector. More specifically they aim to assist Municipalities in understanding how to measure energy efficiency in the first place, and also to recruit suitably qualified staff.
Best practice information scheme: The French Energy Renovation passport
The energy renovation passport is a French scheme aiming to improve housing energy performance mainly by focusing on a detailed analysis of quantitative and qualitative consumption data. Its goal is to determine step-by-step programs of energy saving actions by capitalizing on an overview of the housing, an energy report, an improvement program and a financial analysis. At least one of the proposed programs must lead to a "low consumption" performance. The passport will allow households to make an informed choice regarding the program of actions required to improve their housing energy performance.
Finally, existing mechanisms affecting energy prices (i.e. energy taxes/CO2 taxes) have also been proposed by many MS countries. The figure below shows that savings from energy taxes dominate the share of total estimated savings.
Classification of alternative measures based on estimated savings
The most extreme example is the case of Sweden, where energy taxation is expected to deliver 100% of savings. The following table lists the eight countries under evaluation describing their options for energy or CO2 taxes according to their NEEAPS and updated notification reports, by giving a% share only for those countries that enough details were available.
Countries |
Proposed Tax schemes (% share in total savings) |
Austria |
Energy taxes (18,67%), Federal highway toll: Taxes like road tax (1,75%) |
Estonia |
Excise duties and VAT on fossil fuels and electricity (under review) |
France |
Eco-taxes for heavy vehicles (under review), Increase in domestic consumption duty based on CO2 content (under review) |
Germany |
Energy taxes (34,82%), air traffic taxes (1,98%) and truck taxes (1,43%) |
Greece |
The fuel tax (i.e. excise duty on heating oil) initially proposed has been suspended. |
Netherlands |
Increase in duty on diesel (1,59%), Increase in duty on LPG (0,13%) |
UK |
Climate Change Levy (6,18%), Carbon reduction commitment Energy Efficiency scheme (5,18%) |
Sweden |
Energy tax and Carbon dioxide taxes (100%) |
The ENSPOL project has observed that for countries like Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and UK a large number of financial measures are proposed to bring about a relatively small amount of estimated savings. In Sweden although a number of measures are notified only savings resulting from Energy CO2 taxes are accounted for to meet with the 2020 target savings. The Swedish example might be quite straightforward however there is no guarantee that the fiscal regime will bring about its estimated energy savings (Xylia and Sylveira, 2014).
As such assigned savings to alternative measures serve more as an indicative target for most policy measures and are subject to change, since energy savings resulting from measures are often highly dependent on the scale of each measure and the replication potential of these measures. In addition most reported national energy savings data is not uniformly corrected for additionality while some MS might overstate their savings thus creating an altered image on the share of different types of measures in total savings. In fact this figure shows that the rationale of MS behind their notified reports on alternative policy measures, was to show that proposed measures are sufficient to meet the Article 7 target; yet MS will make their own decisions on what contribution each measure makes to the total target.
Alternative measures can be characterized by a significant variety regarding the targeted end use sectors. An analysis of the sectoral split, based on their targeted energy savings, has been conducted for each country.
The figure below shows the sectoral split of proposed measures, based on their sectoral scope as described for each measure (e.g. residential, transport, public, industrial, residential, commercial & tertiary, agriculture). The majority of those have a cross-sectoral scope implemented in different sectors simultaneously. Typical crosscutting measures are proposed in the form of financial schemes applying to domestic and tertiary sectors, energy taxes, and fiscal measures as well as building regulations. More than 50% of the target savings of each country is achieved through crosscutting measures (e.g. France, Austria, Italy and Germany).
Sectors’ contribution (%) to total energy savings’ target
Sweden, Greece and The Netherlands propose measures with a more specific sectoral scope in order to achieve their target. Sweden in fact is the only country to calculate energy savings resulting from the transport sector, which contributes by 70% over the sum of target savings. The Netherlands emphasized notably more than other countries, on the industrial sector, while Greece and UK expect most savings from the residential sector (by 48% and 62% respectively).
Aiming to explore whether there is a more natural fit of certain sorts of technology / intervention supported by different sorts of measures, the ENSPOL project analyzed eligible technologies and measures as described by each alternative option. The table below attempts to classify alternative measures regarding their technology focus and the sector on which they are implemented indicating which types of measures are usually opted for by MS countries to support certain technology interventions. Please note that the table does not include all measures proposed by countries. Instead only measures adequately described in the notification reports are included in the table. Therefore the table is not meant to be exhaustive but to indicate which technologies interventions are crowding out other options.
Classification of alternative policy measures based on their eligible technologies and interventions
Common technologies | Fiscal (R: tax reliefs, I: increases) | Financial (L: loans, G: Grants, P: partial guarantee-3rd party financing) | Direct investment (P: Public procurement, I: Public infrastructure investment, RD&D) | Regulations | Support for Human Agency (information, training, education) |
Residential/Buildings sector | |||||
Energy renovation of the thermal envelopes of existing buildings (e.g insulation, facades, windows) | Italy (R), Greece (R), France (R), UK (I), Netherlands (R) | Italy (G), Austria (G, G), Germany (G, L, G), Greece (L, G, G, P), France (L, G, L), UK (P) | Germany, Netherlands, UK | Netherlands | |
Upgrade of heating systems (e.g. condensing boilers, heat pumps, solar thermal) in existing buildings | Netherlands, Germany, UK | Netherlands | |||
Construction of new buildings (e.g. climate friendly construction material) | Netherlands, UK | Netherlands, Germany | |||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of air conditioning equipment | Netherlands | Netherlands | |||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of the lighting installations in existing buildings. | Netherlands | Netherlands, Germany | |||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of household appliances | Netherlands | Netherlands, Germany | |||
Installation of RES systems in new & existing buildings | Netherlands, Germany | Netherlands, Germany | |||
Rational energy use/smart energy planning | Netherlands, Germany | ||||
Connecting to district heating | France (R) | Netherlands | |||
Domestic refrigeration and appliances | UK | ||||
Energy upgrade of the E/M installations | France (L, G, L) | ||||
Industry | |||||
Introduction of energy management schemes and energy audits | Sweden | Germany (G) | Germany, Greece, Sweden, Netherlands | Germany, Greece | |
Improvement of equipment and process technology (BAT) | UK (R) | Germany (L, G) | Austria (RD&D) | Netherlands | |
Installation of heat recovery/waste heat utilization systems | UK (R) | Germany (G, L, G) | |||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial heating & cooling installations | UK (R) | Germany (G, L, G) | |||
Installation of RES systems | Sweden, Netherlands | ||||
Public-Services Sector | |||||
Renovation of existing outdoor public lighting installations | Austria (G), Germany (L), Greece (G, P), UK (L) | Greece(G) | UK | ||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of existing data centers (e.g. greening ICT) | Austria (G), Germany (G) | Austria (RD&D) | Greece, UK | Sweden | |
Improvement of the heating installations in existing buildings (e.g. oil to natural gas boilers) | UK (L) | Austria (RD&D), Greece (G) | UK | Netherlands | |
Facilities and estate management, rationalization and smart energy planning | Austria (G), UK (L) | Greece (G) | Greece, UK | Greece, Sweden | |
Installation of RES or CHP units | UK (L) | UK | Netherlands | ||
Energy renovation of the thermal envelopes of existing buildings (e.g. insulation, facades, windows) | UK (L,P) | UK | Netherlands | ||
Public-Services Sector | |||||
Improvement of the energy efficiency through automation, smart management systems and audits | UK (I) | Greece (P), Sweden (G), France (G), UK (P) | Austria (RD&D), Greece (G) | UK | Sweden |
Improvement of the energy efficiency of district heating and cooling | UK (I) | Greece (P), Austria (G) | UK | ||
Improvement of the energy efficiency of electrical installations in existing buildings | UK (I,R) | ||||
Installation of RES and CHP units | Austria (I), UK (I), Netherlands (R) | Austria (G, G), Germany (G) | Germany, UK, Netherlands | Netherlands | |
Expansion/upgrade of heat and refrigeration systems | UK (I) | Germany (G) | |||
Energy upgrade interventions of technical infrastructure / other facilities | UK (I) | France (G) | |||
Energy Efficiency Lighting | UK (I) | UK | |||
Transport | |||||
Implementation of measures for urban sustainable mobility | Austria (G), Greece (G) | Austria (I) | |||
Promotion of Low emission vehicles | Austria (G), Greece (G) | Austria (I), Germany (P) | |||
Introduction of electric, natural gas and hydrogen vehicles (i.e. switching of fuel vehicles) | Netherlands (R) | Germany (G), Netherlands (G) | Austria (I),UK | UK | |
Improvement of urban mobility and transport for businesses | Greece (G) | Austria (I) | |||
Agriculture | |||||
Financial assistance: Energy Efficiency loans from agricultural pension bank | Germany (L) |
In the building sector, energy renovation of the thermal envelope of existing buildings (e.g. insulation, facades and windows) seems a common option promoted in every sector (in the residential sector for Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, UK and the Netherlands, and in the Public, Commercial and Tertiary sector for the UK).
Higher cost measures (e.g. whole house renovation, solid wall insulation) seem to be the main focus of alternative measures proposed in the residential sector, usually in the form of soft loans and grants.
In the public sector, street lighting and build envelope measures are the usual interventions targeted mainly through grant schemes, regulations as well as behavioral measures.
The most common intervention in the heating domain chosen by Austria, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, UK, and the Netherlands is the upgrade of heating systems in existing buildings in the residential sector by using condensing boilers, heat pumps and solar thermal, or by using oil to natural gas boilers in the public sector for Austria and Greece, UK.
Automation and smart management systems, Renewables (RES) and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units dominate crosscutting technologies promoted also through direct infrastructure investments. The same type of measures usually supports the improvement of equipment and process technologies in the industrial sector.
Finally in the transport sector, urban sustainable mobility and low emission vehicles (case of Austria, Germany and Greece) are promoted the most through tolls, regulation and direct infrastructure investments.
Less targeted by alternative measures, are new products such as domestic refrigeration, appliances and co-generation units as well as energy savings interventions in new builds. District heating & cooling, and waste heat utilization systems are also less common.
Source: ENSPOL report D3.1 Report on Alternative schemes to Energy Efficiency Obligations under Article 7 implementation