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Energy Efficiency Expert, Paris, France
Closing date: Monday, 11 March 2024
Result of Service
Under the overall supervision of UNEP Program Officer, the consultant will deliver the followings: The final output will be a report describing the current state and potential for the ESCO market in Ghana, including:
A summary of the relevant regulatory environment
A description of past and current ESCO projects
An overview of potential ESCO projects, and related investment needs and potential energy savings, provided by existing energy audits
A list of active and prospective ESCOs and their capacities
A description of market barriers and opportunities
Work Location
Remote, from Accra, Ghana
Expected duration
3 months
Duties and Responsibilities
The Energy Service Company (ESCO) concept emerged in the 1970s, developing a business model that finances the replacement of outdated and inefficient technology with new and efficient alternatives and repays it with the value of the saved energy. The ESCOs thrived in the US in the 1980s and the concept has taken root, particularly in China, but also in other regions since then. The African region is although still experiencing limited ESCO activity. There is an entire ecosystem around ESCOs and energy efficiency that need to be put in place, including the building of trust in the ESCO industry; enabling regulatory frameworks actively creating demand for ESCO services; and the financing of the ESCOs. UNEP CCC has established the Global ESCO Network, gathering best practices of ESCO policy frameworks from 95% of all ESCO associations across the world. It is the Vision of the Global ESCO Network to be the global driver and inspire government actions for scaling up the contribution of ESCOs to the global response for mitigating the threat of climate change and the goals set out by the Paris Agreement. Ghana has taken various important steps towards improving energy efficiency committing to a doubling of energy efficiency improvement within industrial facilities by 20% by 2030. It has developed energy efficiency standards and labelling for a multitude of residential and industrial appliances and technologies imported or produced in Ghana. In Ghana, there are number of energy efficiency initiatives that have been implemented and are in place. These include the three Energy Service Centres have been established by the Millennium Development Authority in partnership with the Energy Commission to address the need to build capacities and ensure that a core of qualified and certified professionals is available in the country. The three centres are located at Accra Technical University, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Natural Resources. Additionally, the Ghana Industrial Energy Efficiency Policy Framework was developed with support from UNIDO, to guide policy development for energy efficiency in industry. However, these initiatives and framework do not currently include a guarantee instrument to facilitate ESCOs’ access to financing for investments in energy efficiency measures. As the development of the national energy efficiency policy framework, including ESCOs, is about to be initiated, it would be important to incorporate means to ensure that ESCOs can actually access finance to invest in energy efficiency measures. Works has also been attempted to support ESCO models, but limited financing opportunities still hinder ESCO investments. In 1995, the Government enacted a power factor correction policy, imposing penalties on large energy consumers with a power factor lower than 0.9. A fiscal mechanism was established (2012 – 2013) where industries with a power factor lower than 0.9 were targeted to be supported through ESCOs investing in equipment and payments made from the energy through energy performance contracts (EPC). Unfortunately, lack of financing opportunities for the ESCOs slowed down the implementation of energy efficiency measures, resulting in little interest by the industrial operators to scale up energy efficiency activities through the ESCO modality (National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, 2015). ESCO generally have difficulties accessing capital from commercial banks, as the ESCO investment goes to finance equipment in the ESCO clients’ own facilities, and the ESCO not been able to use the client’s facilities and equipment as collateral. The provision of third-party risk cover and payment guarantee will enable the banking sector to provide capital for ESCO investments in energy efficiency measures which are currently unserved due to (mostly perceived) risks, stemming from the lack of traditional collateral, as the ESCOs are not the final owners of the facilities where investments are made. The lack of risk cover instruments is by many stakeholders in the climate change agenda, acknowledged as the main hindrance for mobilizing investments into climate change-related technologies, nonetheless in Ghana. Therefore, UNEP CCC aims to support Ghana with the design and deployment of a guarantee model specifically designed to enhance the effect of the upcoming policy framework in Ghana. UNEP CCC will work with the Energy Commission in Ghana, the Energy Foundation, the banking sector, active and prospective ESCOs and national financial institutions for the design of a vehicle to provide counterparty or payment risk cover to help ESCOs raise commercial loan capital, targeted at third party investors in energy efficiency equipment. For the proposed guarantee model to be effective, it needs to be design based on local needs and conditions for ESCOs, respond to the needs of prospective ESCO projects, and ideally address identified gaps and needs for ESCO investments and ESCO market development. It is therefore necessary to first have a clear overview of the current state and potential for the ESCO market in Ghana. The part time Energy Efficiency Expert is required to perform the analysis of the state and potential of the ESCO market in Ghana under guidance of the project manager. The analysis requires (i) a summary of the relevant regulatory environment for ESCOs, (ii) a description of past and current ESCO projects, (iii) an overview of potential ESCO projects, (iv) a list of active and prospective ESCOs and their capacities, and (v) a description of ESCO market barriers and opportunities.
Qualifications/special skills
A bachelor’s degree or equivalent in engineering, environment studies, business, management, administration or another relevant field is required. A master’s degree is desirable and preferred.
A minimum of 5 years of work experience in the field of energy or energy efficiency is required.
Experience working with public institutions or the private sector in Ghana is required.
Special skills/knowledge:
The Energy Efficiency Expert should be in possession of strong inter-personal and verbal communication skills, possess proven analytical capabilities, as well as excellent writing skills. The contractor should have good knowledge of – and experience with – ESCOs and Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) as implementation instrument for energy efficiency projects, and energy and energy efficiency policies at the national level. More specifically the contractor should be familiar with national energy efficiency objectives and sector policies, and relevant regulation, and have overall insights in financing of energy efficiency measures.
Languages
Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.
Additional Information
Not available.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
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