Energy efficiency is not only essential for cost reduction but also reinforces companies’ commitment to sustainability. Energy Savings Certificates (CAE) have become a practical and effective mechanism that allows businesses to recover part of their investment in actions aimed at improving their energy efficiency while aligning with environmental objectives.
One of the great advantages of CAE is the possibility of monetising savings. Improvements that generate savings of over 30 MWh annually can be sold during the three years following their implementation, provided that the work began after 24 January 2023. This mechanism allows companies to obtain additional income that enhances the profitability of their energy efficiency projects.
What is an Energy Savings Certificate?
It is an electronic document that certifies final energy savings equivalent to 1 kWh after carrying out an energy efficiency action. This system allows companies to monetise these savings, obtaining financial compensation for investments made in projects such as:
- Changing lighting systems to more efficient options.
- Renovating industrial equipment with more modern and efficient versions.
- Improving thermal insulation in facilities.
Benefits for companies
CAE offer multiple advantages for companies in industrial, tertiary, and service sectors, including:
- Process decarbonisation: Reducing carbon footprint, aligning with global sustainability objectives.
- Savings on energy bills: Significantly reducing costs associated with electricity and gas.
- Monetisation of energy savings: Generating additional income by selling certificates to obligated parties, recovering part of the investment cost and improving project profitability.
This compensation system reinforces the economic viability of energy efficiency initiatives, offering companies a valuable tool to optimise resources and promote sustainability.
Types of energy efficiency actions
The CAE system distinguishes between two main types of actions:
- Singular actions: Specific and less common measures in sectors, but which generate a significant improvement in energy efficiency.
- Standard actions: More common actions in sectors such as industry, transport, tertiary, or residential. For these actions, the Ministry for Ecological Transition has developed detailed technical sheets that establish the technical requirements and methodology for calculating energy savings.
The steps to follow and achieve this certificate are:
- Consult the technical sheet provided by the Ministry, which details technical requirements, such as installing an hourly and flow register in the output pipe.
- Ensure that the action is executed by a qualified professional or company, accredited in the Integrated Industrial Register.
- Calculate energy savings using the described methodology, comparing compressor efficiencies and considering effective airflow and operating hours.
- Monetisation of energy savings.
