Buenos Aires Expanding Energy Efficiency Retrofit of Public Buildings
August 1, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis Buenos Aires is the political, financial, and cultural hub of Argentina, but also the country’s largest energy consumer, using far more energy than it produces.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo courtesy of solarthermalmagazine.com.
“Generation and distribution facilities are operating at their capacity due to lack of investments. For this reason, the national government usually imports energy in order to satisfy growing demand,” according to a joint report by the Environmental Protection Agency of Buenos Aires and the ICLEI, an international association of local governments implementing sustainable development.
Besides making sure the whole city has power to operate, the Buenos Aires government is also responsible for the maintenance of about 1,500 public buildings, including schools, hospitals, public service centers, and cultural centers. The city government spends about €20 million per year on electricity for these buildings.
To lower its energy costs and bring down its greenhouse gas emissions, the city is in the process of expanding its “Program of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings” that was initiated in 2008.
Under the program, the city’s EPA will expand its current retrofit study project to include 15 more buildings. Their current energy usage will be evaluated, and then modifications will be made to lower their energy costs.
The city’s agency is “expected to invest €150,000 in professional contracts to implement the energy saving diagnosis and €100,000 for equipment for the 15 buildings. The cost of human resources needed for each energy diagnosis is approximately €10,000,” according to the report.