Energy transformation is not the only challenge

Interview with Ing. Róbert Ruňanin, Sales Director ENGIE Services, for SAFM GUIDE 2023

In addition to the technical facility management segment, ENGIE Services also operates in the energy and energy services sector. What are the main issues that building owners and operators have to deal with today?

In addition to standard operating activities, the No. 1 topic for them today is energy, its price, and the related level of operating costs. The energy crisis of 2021 and the war in Ukraine have caused the price of natural gas and electricity to rise to historic highs. In the past, company managers did not address this area at all because energy costs were well below 5% of their total costs. Now, in many cases, they account for more than 15-20%, which is already posing a serious problem for the sustainability of individual projects.

What measures can be taken to eliminate this situation in the energy market?

Leaving aside the purchase of energy itself, the key is to look at the energy consumption of the building, the operation, or the consumption of the individual process equipment, and the associated energy efficiency.

In the case of inefficient buildings, it is essential to analyse their operational parameters in detail and propose a set of measures that will contribute to lower energy consumption and long-term sustainability. By combining investment and non-investment measures, savings of tens of percent can be achieved. The old familiar rule that the cheapest and greenest energy is that which is not consumed also applies here.

Nowadays, in addition to energy costs, there is often talk of diversifying energy sources and reducing CO2. Why is this topic important?

Climate change is already having a negative impact as a result of the increase in various emissions and the consequent global warming. The European Union and its Member States have set themselves 2 ambitious climate targets.

They want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. From my point of view, this is a challenging target. However, if all the necessary aspects come together, such as political support, an appropriate legislative environment, the commercial sector, the state and the public sphere, I believe that this goal is achievable.

In the near future, CO2 producers are to be charged. When will this regulation be in force and to whom will it apply?

Currently, only large industrial companies and power plants pay CO2 emissions charges in the energy sector. The European Union has approved legislation that will make other polluters, including households, pay a tax on CO2 emissions from 2027. The combination of the high price of natural gas and the additional tax on CO2 emissions generated by it will be a natural economic incentive to change the fuel base for the production of thermal energy for buildings.

How is the private sector rising to this challenge and where is the energy sector heading globally?

Industry was the first to react to the situation. In particular, large international companies already have or are working on their decarbonisation plans. Importantly, the targets they have set are even bolder than those set by the EU. Even the ENGIE Group itself, which owns and operates energy sources around the world, including Slovakia, has set itself the target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. If I may summarise, the energy sector is moving towards decarbonisation. In my opinion, the solution is a combination of several measures: the use of photovoltaics, biomass, heat pumps, biogas, wind energy, battery storage, flexibility of production and consumption, and many others. I am personally pleased that ENGIE in Slovakia has already implemented many of these solutions. Others are in the pipeline and will be commissioned in the near future.

  class=

What about companies that will not pay attention to decarbonising their business in the future?

As I mentioned, large industrial companies have already started the decarbonisation journey. In a second step, they will also set the rules for their potential subcontractors, who will have to demonstrate their carbon footprint before they can bid for a contract. In the next step, a similar scenario awaits buildings, office, retail, services and others.

If building owners want to keep their tenants, they cannot do so without reducing CO2 emissions. As was said at a recent SAFM conference, “Those who don’t get on the decarbonisation train that is already in motion will lose their business in the near future.”

What decarbonisation services does ENGIE services provide to its clients?

ENGIE wants to be a partner for clients who see the decarbonisation challenges the same way we do. However, it is important to recognise that energy transformation is not the only challenge for the private sector. Companies also need to focus on other issues related to their production process, for example: digitalisation, production efficiency, new technological processes, labour shortages and so on. Therefore, many companies want to focus mainly on their core business and transfer responsibility for energy to their partner. And ENGIE wants to be that partner to help them with the necessary decarbonisation of their business.

Can you also tell us about some specific solutions offered that clients could use?

The solutions we offer are based on real experience on our own sites. ENGIE already has applied projects in Slovakia based on biomass, photovoltaics, cogeneration units, water-to-water or air-to-water heat pumps. In the near future, we will be commissioning a battery storage facility and a biogas plant.

As part of the global ENGIE Group, we are gaining valuable experience in the construction and operation of wind and geothermal energy projects, which are part of our energy development strategy in Slovakia.

ENGIE offers these solutions with comprehensive responsibility to customers: from design through implementation to operation, including financing of the proposed solution. As an example, I will mention the first PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) project we concluded in Slovakia this year. It is a 3.5 MWp photovoltaic power plant project to be located on the roof of a client in the automotive sector. In addition to the design and implementation, ENGIE will supply green electricity to the client during the long-term contract. The project is currently under construction and is expected to be commissioned next spring.

The energy crisis has accelerated the process of decarbonisation, which poses an ambitious challenge not only for ENGIE’s customers, but also for their own energy resources.

Engie