EPC-facilitator Londerzeel Meise

The communes of Londerzeel and Meise are exemplary in their efforts to reduce energy consumption and the operating costs of their building heritage as much as possible.

From 2018, the municipality of Meise and the municipality of Londerzeel - together with ENGIE Cofely and with Ingenium as facilitator - will make no less than 18 buildings more energy efficient thanks to an intermunicipal Energy Performance Contract (EPC). Thanks to EPC projects, municipalities can save 20 to 25% of energy in their buildings, which reduces CO2 emissions. In Londerzeel and Meise, the EPC contract started on 1 January 2018. This is the first time in Flanders that two municipalities have joined forces and submitted a joint dossier.

Municipalities own many buildings. Many of these buildings are outdated, which means they do not meet current and future energy performance requirements and consume too much energy. Moreover, most municipalities do not have the necessary financial resources to make energy-saving investments. Renovation is therefore often postponed.

The province of Flemish Brabant has therefore developed an innovative coaching programme to support the municipalities in implementing energy-saving measures in their buildings. The province opted for the EPC model. Through the EPC coaching process, the province of Flemish Brabant stimulates the development of EPC projects for municipal buildings.

Energy performance contracting (EPC) project

Within an energy performance contracting project, an Energy Service Company (ESCO) implements energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, with a contractual guarantee that the foreseen energy savings will be achieved and maintained for the duration of the contract. The revenue stream from energy savings is used to cover the cost of the investments made. In this way, the financial risk for the owner of the building, in this case the municipality, is limited.

In this case, the municipalities of Meise and Londerzeel decided to make the investments via their own financing. If the energy savings are greater than guaranteed, ENGIE Cofely and the municipalities share the extra profit. If they turn out to be lower, ENGIE Cofely will pay back the difference. As soon as the financing has been repaid, the energy savings will accrue in full to the municipalities which, after 15 years, will have more modern, energy-efficient and comfortable buildings.

Londerzeel and Meise

An EPC is mainly used for large buildings or groups of multiple buildings with a sufficiently high energy consumption at the start of the project. That is why Londerzeel and Meise decided to enter into a partnership and group their buildings together.

Together with the Sustainable Building Support Centre of the province of Flemish Brabant, a partner was sought, as a result of which both municipalities found each other. The coaching process led to a collaboration with EPC facilitator Ingenium, who negotiated the EPC contract on behalf of the municipalities. This eventually led to the appointment of ENGIE Cofely in the EPC contract.

"The EPC dossier is part of the global climate action plan and the Covenant of Mayors in which Londerzeel - like Meise - takes up the challenge - and intends - to save 20% energy by 2020. The EPC dossier is an action with an even greater challenge: ENGIE Cofely guarantees Londerzeel and Meise energy savings of at least 20% in the municipal buildings," says alderman for Energy Tom Troch. This will amount to a reduction of CO2 emissions of more than 700 tonnes per year for the two municipalities combined.

The EPC dossier in Londerzeel and Meise is therefore unique because of this:

two municipalities working together
the dossier is included in the Covenant of Mayors
this is the first intermunicipal EPC contract for municipal buildings in Flanders
As a result, both municipalities are opting for an integrated approach to their building management.
Since 1 January 2018, ENGIE Cofely has been responsible for the maintenance of the municipal and CPAS buildings and for implementing the various energy-saving measures for 15 years. Ingenium will further support the municipalities for the follow-up of the implementation of the EPC contract.

Planned works:

- Roof insulation

- Replacement of the framework

- Replacement of boilers by condensing boilers

- Installation of 2 small cogeneration units (20kWe)

- Better energy monitoring thanks to the OPTIMIZ system

- Installation of control systems for more efficient energy management

- Installation of rainwater harvesting and reuse systems

- Installation of solar panels on 11 buildings

The works will also lead to a significant reduction in water consumption in the Meise municipal swimming pool, thanks to an optimisation of the filtration system. In total, more than 200 m³ of water will be saved each year.