The Polish ESCO market is recently developing significantly in Poland but still there is not many companies acting as ESCO as well as there is not much interest among the potential clients. There is need to involve different raising-awareness institutions in activities supporting the market. ESCO companies are active in various sectors, performing activities for various types of clients.
Some ESCOs offer a wide range of services, while other specialise in one segment (e.g. street lighting). ESCOs provide services for the public sector, the commercial sector, the energy sector, industry, small and medium enterprises (SME) or even households. Considering their volume, the latter offer a significant potential for energy savings connected with use of household appliances and lighting.
Multifamily buildings can be divided according to their management and ownership structures into several sectors: housing cooperatives, housing communities, council buildings, private buildings, social housing associations. Each type of buildings has its own management (decision making) structure and needs. The sector of residential buildings does not have almost any access to EU subsidies, therefore, its interest in the third party financing is increasing. Subsidies under the thermal modernisation and renovation premiums constitute a competition for ESCOs.
The main investment types include: modernisation of central heating and domestic hot water installations, construction of new domestic hot water installations that replace bathroom water heaters, modernisation of heat transfer stations, modernisation and replacement of heat sources. Such investments are the most common in housing cooperatives and housing communities. They are rather rare in council buildings. Social housing associations constitute a new management form and their buildings are also rather new.
There are, however, some projects in replacement of heat sources for fuel oil, as they have high operational costs. Buildings of social housing associations are low-cost structures, often characterised by savings at the investment stage.[1]
[1] ESCO market in Poland – current state and development perspectives” Institute of Environmental Economics