WASHINGTON - A new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO), titled “A Survey of the U.S. ESCO Industry Market Growth and Development from 2000 to 2006,” documents that Energy Service Companies (ESCO) industry revenues from energy services grew by 20 percent per year from 2004 to 2006 and totaled about $3.6 billion in 2006. Energy efficiency accounted for almost three quarters of those revenues totaling $2.5 billion a year. The LBNL-NAESCO survey results are based on survey interviews with 33 of 46 leading ESCOs. Buddy Hahs, chairman of NAESCO and CEO of Custom Energy Services, said that the survey “represents a snapshot of the increasingly significant role that ESCOs play in delivering large blocks of energy-efficiency resources to a wide range of building owners and end users.”

The authors of the report suggest that a consensus appears to be emerging among many regulators, utilities, legislators, and customers on moving energy efficiency forward as a high-priority resource. “As initiatives are being developed to encourage and support increased energy-efficiency investment, it is increasingly important to understand the process for procuring and delivering energy-efficiency resources in various markets,” said Adam Procell, vice chairman of NAESCO and vice president of DMJM Harris.

The report also identifies ESCOs as important partners in urban areas for clean energy, sustainability, and climate change mitigation initiatives. Donald Gilligan, president of NAESCO, and one of the report authors, said that “The recently announced Clinton Climate Change Initiative to retrofit buildings globally is another example of how ESCOs can effectively deliver clean energy on a widespread scale.”

Four NAESCO ESCO members will work with five large financial institutions to retrofit buildings in 16 cities including New York, Chicago, and Houston. New York, Boston, and Cambridge, Mass., have also launched major clean energy initiatives to significantly reduce energy use in their cities that are likely to include partnerships with ESCOs and other energy-efficiency service providers. For more information, visit www.naesco.org.

Publication date: 06/18/2007