The Spanish ESCO market is still considered to be small, nevertheless, it has been increasing steadily both in the public sector, mainly with local and autonomies authorities, and in the private sector. A growing interest has been experienced from potential clients driven mainly by market factors (growing energy prices) and consolidation of the financial crisis, but also via governmental promotion and programs. ESCO projects have been focused primarily on public lighting and public buildings, with some attention on private non-residential buildings and industries involving cogeneration, audits and HVAC control systems.
A success history of an ESCO Project in Andalusia is the case of the town of El Saucejo (4,500 inh. aprox.). Public lighting facilities in the municipality were in poor condition; with obsolete equipment, which resulted in high energy costs and bad lighting conditions in most areas of the village.
Under an ESCO project, all 1,024 points of the public lighting system were renovated with new induction lamps and high efficiency reflectors, resulting in energy saving of 70% of the baseline, cutting down the electrical consumption of 740,000 kWh to 218,000 kWh per year. Additional benefits include the significant improvement of lighting quality that meets European regulations, combined with environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the ESCO project created local employment because a local installer and maintenance company were contracted for the implementation of the project. The ESCO contract is worth €1,050,000 and is concluded for 10 years. It includes energy management control system and maintenance of the installations.