On the path to greater climate protection: SPIE and the city of Korschenbroich reach agreement on an energy performance contract

On the path to greater climate protection: SPIE and the city of Korschenbroich reach agreement on an energy performance contract

Korschenbroich, 8 February 2021 - SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, is modernising and renovating buildings owned by local authorities and towns - without putting a strain on their budget. Energy performance contracts are great tools to implement energy-saving renovation measures despite a scarcity of financial and human resources within a local authority - and to do so with a contractually agreed savings guarantee (binding). The renovation is being refinanced exclusively using the energy costs that are saved. That spares the public purse and secures the value of the property portfolio for the long term.

The 15-year energy performance contract agreement between SPIE and Korschenbroich will enable the city to carry out necessary modernization and refurbishment operations, on both the municipal swimming pool and the fire and rescue station. 'While some other local authorities are having to close their pools, Korschenbroich has opted for an energy performance contract. The indoor pool needed extensive renovation in order to preserve it, which is now fully refinanced thanks to energy savings. By taking this course of action, the town of Korschenbroich is securing the long-term survival of the pool,' reported Michael Deprez, head of the building management and environment office of the city of Korschenbroich.

Energy efficiency measures lead to CO₂ reduction

SPIE identified extensive energy-efficiency measures for the municipal indoor pool and, from those, derived the savings potential with the appropriate implementation. During the renovation of the swimming pool, the ventilation systems received an upgrade involving the incorporation of a heat reclamation system. 'The area of the ventilation systems accounts for more than 80 percent of the heat and 40 percent of the power. That is why a modern, energy-saving system is particularly important,' explained Bertram Beckmann, the responsible project manager at SPIE. In addition to the energy-efficiency measures as part of the energy-saving contracting, the electrical facilities, ceilings, tiles and lamps were improved and renewed. Besides the power and heat savings generated by all these operations, CO₂ emissions have also been reduced by 420 tonnes per year. 'In concrete terms, 420 tonnes of CO2 savings per year are equivalent to the storage capacity of around 33,000 trees or, to put it another way, a forest area of more than 300 hectares. That is impressive,' said a delighted Beckmann.

Annual cost savings enable modernisation

After the indoor pool's renovation, the fire and rescue station of the town of Korschenbroich was equipped with a 210 square-meter photovoltaic system. In the summer months, the infrastructure can cover up to half of the building's electricity requirements. Moreover, the ageing hot water tank was replaced with water heating device based on the instantaneous water heating principle. 'The facility was cofinanced exclusively by the savings and has required no further investment from our side whatsoever,' emphasised Michael Deprez. The expected annual cost saving is more than €7,000. Moreover, around 20 tonnes of CO₂ emissions will be prevented (view the facility yields online). 'With our services, we are optimising the CO₂ balance of the town of Korschenbroich and enabling modernisation measures without putting a strain on its budget,' added Bertram Beckmann. 'In times of climate change in particular, it is all the more important to use energy efficiently and to reduce CO₂ emissions. With our energy-saving contracting model, we are enabling many organisations, local authorities and municipalities to implement energy-saving measures and thereby take an important step towards protecting the climate,' concluded the project manager.