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Energy efficiency is becoming one of the most critical policy tools to help countries meet the substantial growth in energy demand while easing the environmental impacts of that growth. About 50 percent of the energy used to light government facilities in middle-income countries can be saved, plus another 25 percent saved in water supply systems globally, if key barriers to investing in energy efficiency are addressed. In this regard, a new course was developed by ESMAP and the World Bank Institute to equip public sector practitioners with practical tools for saving energy in public buildings, such as schools, hospitals, offices, water systems, and street lighting.
The public procurement of energy efficiency e-course was launched in June 2011, and is now enrolling participants from countries across the world. It targets a wide range of participants including public agency directors and managers, finance and budget officers, procurement officers, facility managers and engineers, business managers and analysts and energy service professionals.
The online course consists of seven modules and presents key concepts related to energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and provides opportunities to apply and discuss them. The course is designed based on a recently published ESMAP book, Public Procurement of Energy Efficiency Services: Lessons from International Experience.
The book’s lead author and ESMAP’s Senior Energy Specialist, Jas Singh said the book identifies seven different models for promoting energy efficiency service provisions within public agencies, along with implementation experiences. He said the book provides users with schemes to mix-and-match elements from different programs in order to develop solutions tailored to their country or city.
The “Public Procurement of Energy Efficiency Services” course is part of a new comprehensive e-learning on “energy efficiency in public buildings and carbon finance” which is under development by WBI. It will equip different stakeholders with technical skills, tools and knowledge on the “how” of indentifying, developing and implementing energy efficiency program in public buildings and ‘how’ to use the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to obtain carbon credits while reducing carbon emissions.
In May 2011, WBICC delivered the Public Procurement of energy efficiency service online course to more than 100 stakeholders from Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. It also conducted face-to-face workshops in three countries.
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