Strong is the commitment of the banking world in support of Renewable Energy Sources: in the 2016, in fact, the main banks operating in the sector, representative of the 40% of the sector in terms of total assets, have taken financing commitments for more than 2,3 billion EUR.
The data is contained in the latest Abi Lab survey "Banks in support of energy efficiency and RES (Renewable Energy Sources)", conducted in the context of the work of the "Banks and Green Economy" Observatory.
Furthermore, the study shows that most of the banks analyzed have implemented specific energy efficiency financing products dedicated, in particular, to four customer targets: SME / Mid-CAP; Big business; Services (Hotels, Large Organized Distribution, Sport Centers, Transportation, etc.); ESCo (Energy Service Company) or companies specialized in energy services to customers. The most used product is the unsecured loan, especially for the Services sector and for the ESCos. Going to analyze other forms of financing, the mortgage loan is more present in loans for large companies, while the loan is more concentrated in loans to ESCo. The maximum duration of product financing for the SME / Mid-CAP, Large Enterprises and Services sectors is 180 months, for ESCOs, instead it is 120 months.
The new Abi Lab guidelines on energy diagnosis and the energy purchase process
The banking world is increasingly attentive to the issue of energy and the environment also in terms of direct impacts. In fact, the banks manage a vast real estate asset consisting of branches, business centers, data processing centers distributed throughout the national territory. Among the innovations introduced in this context in the 2017 are the new Abi Lab guidelines for the introduction of measurement methodologies in the field of energy diagnosis in the banking sector carried out in collaboration with ENEA in the context of the work of the Abi Observatory. Lab on "Green Banking".
The strong supervision of banks in the management of direct impacts mainly translates into optimized management of the energy purchase process. This management is carried out through the use of "structured" purchase models that allow the purchase of the necessary energy for their consumption sites at different times of the year. With regard to identifying the best moments for purchase, the banks have at their disposal the support of Abi Lab, which constantly monitors the physical and financial energy markets as part of the work of the Observatory on Electricity and Gas Markets .