The objective of the Horizon 2020 RenOnBill project is to scale up investments towards deep energy renovations of residential buildings, by promoting the development and implementation of on-bill schemes, based on the cooperation between energy utilities and financial institutions. On-bill schemes are a method of financing energy renovation investments in buildings that draws on utility bills as repayment vehicle.

The new report launched by RenOnBill aims to introduce on-bill schemes as a powerful tool for financing energy efficiency in the residential sector, setting the initial background for the development of the work foreseen in the rest of the RenOnBill project.

The report first analyses and review the fundamentals of on-bill schemes, as well as those of other relevant energy financing mechanisms, demonstrating the suitability of on-bill schemes for large scale replication of small investments in residential buildings. The main issues related to energy efficiency financing mechanisms, with particular emphasis on on-bill schemes, are discussed and compared in order to highlight the corresponding positive and negative aspects. The conclusion is that, in general, on-bill schemes and PACE are the most suitable mechanisms for the implementation of large-scale programs.

Afterwards, the study presents a detailed overview of several on-bill schemes that successfully supported energy renovations in the North American residential building sector, as well other relevant on-bill initiatives carried out in Europe and in developing countries. The analysis demonstrates that these mechanisms are rather flexible and they can be implemented for a multitude of purposes ranging from enhancing electricity system adequacy to ensuring customers retention.

Finally, it concludes with a comparative analysis of all the on-bill schemes discussed in the document and outlines the key issues to be addressed in order to ensure the replicability and scaling up of these schemes in Europe. The analysis highlights customers’ very low default rates in paying utility bills repaying the investments. This issue is crucial for the replication of on-bill schemes in Europe, since it is fundamental to assess if this is a peculiarity of North American markets or can be transposed in other contexts.

To read the full report, click here.