The City of Ljubljana has received an energy award from the newspaper Finance for the building energy renovation project. The award is especially significant due to the fact that we were the best in the readers’ choice category as well as in the opinion of an expert jury.

Energy renovations in Ljubljana

In 2017 we signed concession agreements with the consortium of companies Petrol and Resalta for the energy renovation of 48 public buildings under the ownership of the City of Ljubljana. Among them are cultural and healthcare structures, educational institutions, sports facilities and city administration buildings. In the first part of the project (EOL 1) we carried out energy renovations in 48 buildings, among them 25 were comprehensive. The value of the investment was around 15 million euro, and with the renovations we are saving over one million euro per year, representing some 500 households.

The main aim of the project is to improve energy efficiency in buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without lowering the standard of comfort in buildings. The renovations have successfully decreased CO2 emissions by about 3,000 tons per year and by doing so preserved as much as 340 ha of forest, that is, as many as 150,000 trees.

Continuing energy renovations

In 2018 we signed a public-private partnership between the City of Ljubljana and the consortium of companies Petrol, Resalta and the public lighting company Javna razsvetljava d.d. according to the principle of energy contracting for further 11 buildings (project EOL 2).

In EOL 2 we are renovating 4 primary schools, 3 kindergartens, 2 local self-government buildings and 2 sports structures, and by doing so we are going to additionally reduce the use of energy products and increase the share of renewable resources which will consequentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This way we are going to preserve additional 22,000 trees. If we add to this the 150,000 trees we have already preserved in the first part of the project, we are preserving over 170,000 trees, in total.

The value of EOL 2 is almost 5 million euro, and the renovations are ensuring annual savings of over 300,000 euro, which means heating and electrical energy for some 85 households. This part of renovations is going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 463 tons per year, which means an annual reduction of CO2 to a level that can be absorbed by 51 ha of forest, that is, 22,000 trees.

Added value of the project

The City of Ljubljana is earmarking part of the savings in the amount of 10% to the education of children. During this school year we have already prepared and started educational activities for children in schools and kindergartens in the field of energy efficiency and rational use of energy in cooperation with Zavod 404, Montel Energetika.NET and Petrol. It is especially pleasing that the programme is planned for as many as 15 years, which means that it is going to have a long-term impact on changing energy use habits.

International recognition of the significance of the project

The Energy Advanced project has also been recognised in expert circles abroad, namely, within the framework of the Covenant of Mayors Investment Forum on the topic of financing projects in the field of energy efficiency and rational use of energy, held in February this year in Brussels, we received the European Energy Service Award 2019 for the first part of the project (EOL 1), within the scope of which we have renovated 48 buildings under the ownership of the City of Ljubljana.