UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Bridging the financing gap for ESCOs
31/5/2023
8 min read
Feature
Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) will play a key role in driving the energy transition in Europe and reaching the EU’s ambitious climate targets, but there remains an investment gap, especially for financing smaller SME and residential projects. Louisa Troitzsch, COO of Solas Capital AG presents her thoughts.
The European regulatory environment is driving the rapid rise in demand for energy efficiency and small-scale renewable projects. For instance, the REPowerEU plan, which was launched in May 2022 to facilitate energy independence from Russian energy supplies in response to the invasion of Ukraine, set aggressive targets for the European energy transition.
In addition, the cost of phasing out Russian fossil fuel imports has been estimated at €210bn, leading to rapidly increasing demand for investment in clean energy technology projects in the EU.
These ambitious targets coupled with rising energy prices across the European Union (EU) (peaking at a 163% increase in September 2022), have driven the need for governments and businesses to find fast and effective ways to reduce energy consumption.