Going green, one building at a time

The International Energy Agency notes that there is enormous potential to reduce emissions that isn’t being exploited because fossil fuels are still in use, effective energy-efficiency policies are absent and investment in sustainable buildings is insufficient.

 

That is an important move – in the race to beat climate change, buildings are a weak link. The structures within which we live and work are important consumers of energy and, thanks to rising demand for both heating and cooling, a major and growing source of CO2.

With Enel X, local government organizations such as the one in Vitoria-Gasteiz can lead the way, cutting both energy consumption and emissions, without sacrificing comfort and useability, by renovating existing structures and ensuring that newly built ones are sustainable.

 

Our cutting-edge energy optimization solutions meet a variety of different requirements, from schools and sports centers to hospitals and offices, reducing electricity consumption, CO2 emissions, pollution and bills, to the benefit of both citizens and staff.

The Municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the largest in the Basque Country and home to more than a quarter of a million people, picked Enel X as its electricity supplier, tapping us to optimize and maintain 42 public buildings.

 

These include civic centers, sports facilities, public offices and cultural centers. We will also supply internal lighting, installing new LED devices, and revamp the Municipality’s electric plant. The client will save at least 20% from its electricity bill.

 

Our solutions are based on four underlying principles. These are digitalization; the use of the most advanced technologies; customization; and electrification. These allow us to divide our offering into three main areas – energy monitoring, optimization and management; clean energy production; and reducing consumption.

It starts with an energy audit that acts as our main analysis and benchmarking tool, helping us understand how energy is consumed in a building and where there is room for improvement.

We move on to define what can be done to save energy, with an analysis of costs, benefits and payback time, and then look at incentives such as tax breaks that are available to help defray the expense. We offer cloud-based software platforms to monitor and manage energy consumption across the entire real estate portfolio, gathering actionable data that gives continuous control over energy costs, and back this with training and post-sale support.

We offer low-cost, low-maintenance photovoltaic generation systems, as well as installing energy storage systems that exploit the full potential of solar generation. Our cogeneration systems simultaneously produce electricity and heat, while trigeneration extends this by producing cooling energy as well, with near 100% efficiency. In heating and cooling, we have hyper-efficient heat pumps while our insulation prevents heat waste, reduces costs, boosts energy efficiency and increases the life of a building.

Enel X seeks to be the ideal partner in cities’ efforts to become greener and more efficient, one building at a time. We have the experience and presence of a leading company in the energy business, combined with the drive and technological innovation of a startup. We can also boast an in-depth knowledge of local government organizations that we have built up over the years and a full awareness of the challenges and difficulties they face.