Ljubljana saves 1 million euros annually through energy renovation of buildings

Fotografija projekta

Opis projekta

The first stage of an energy renovation project which has been delivered through a public-private partnership has recently been wrapped up. Energy renovation and improvement of 48 buildings cost EUR 15 million. According to the private partner’s estimates, the project should bring down energy costs and facility management costs by a staggering one million euros per year.

The work represents the first stage of a large-scale energy renovation of buildings owned by the City of Ljubljana under energy performance contracting which started last year and finished this September. As many as 34 Ljubljana-based kindergartens and schools, several buildings housing units of Ljubljana Community Health Centre or city administration, as well as the central pool of the Tivoli Waterpark, the Tivoli Hall, the Kodeljevo sports hall, the shooting range in the Rudnik district and the Bežigrad unit of the Ljubljana City Library underwent retrofitting. Energy renovation of the first 48 buildings cost EUR 15 million; private funding accounting for 51 % of the project cost came from the companies Resalta and Petrol – private partners expect to get their money back in less than 15 years. Total annual guaranteed heat and electric energy savings exceed 8 million kWh or over a million euros annually. In turn, this means almost 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions less, a value equivalent to what 150,000 trees or a 340-hectare forest would absorb in a year. ‘’Most of the retrofitted buildings include schools and kindergartens – this is our contribution to ensuring that our children spend their time learning and playing in a much better, enjoyable and safer learning environment,’’ underlined Jože Torkar from Petrol d.d., the leading energy company in the country.

Jelka Žekar, Deputy Mayor of the City of Ljubljana explained that the project was extremely complex and that the municipality led the way in the field of energy renovation and energy performance of buildings, putting it on the good practice map not only at the European level but also beyond EU borders.