Interview with Andrzej Wiszniewski, President of the Board, National Energy Conservation Agency Poland

The EIT Climate-KIC community comprises a rich diversity of expertise, skills and perspectives across our alumni, start-ups, innovation partners, advisors and associates, all of whom contribute to our innovation capacity. 

This week, we spoke to Andrzej Wiszniewski, President of the Board at the National Energy Conservation Agency (NAPE) Poland, about the country’s Building Market Brief (BMB) initiative launch, supported by EIT Climate-KIC.

What’s your role?

NAPE is a local partner in the consortium implementing the BMB project in Poland. Our role is to provide statistical data concerning building characterisation, HVAC technologies and its share in the Polish market (heating, ventilation, cooling, RES), building energy standards, energy consumption, past and current renovations, costs of technologies and refurbishment, energy prices and more.

Additionally, we offer survey-based results concerning the market mechanisms, barriers and drivers of deep renovation in Poland seen from the perspective of different stakeholders, as well as expertise, support and review of the results generated through the model approach created by the BMB’s Lead Partner. NAPE will also promote and disseminate the project’s results in Poland.

My personal role is leading a team implementing the project.

What are you working on with EIT Climate-KIC?

In addition to the BMB project, NAPE participated in the implementation of the City Finance Lab – First Full Cycle (CFC) – where it supervised the identification of effective standards and procedures for the Polish context and the revision of existing guidelines and documents and development of EPC models. Those actions led to EPC contracts templates, procurement rules, guides for investors, technical standards and software specifications.

Additionally, NAPE works on the EU Public Building Retrofit Platform (EU-PUBREP), promoting best practices in deep modernisation of public buildings carried out in Poland as well as disseminates the EPC product for Polish cities, as Project Leader, providing technical assistance to ESCOs and municipalities.

NAPE also works on the ESCO business model, as Project Leader, preparing EIT Climate-KIC business models for Polish energy performance contracts for municipal energy efficiency projects.

What are three implications of this work?

Concerning the BMB report, one is delivering current, comprehensible and reliable knowledge on the Polish housing sector. Second is identifying the main barriers and elements that stimulate the deep thermo-modernisation market’s development from the perspectve of the Polish housing market’s entire value chain. And third is illustrating the adopted climate protection state policy’s impact on all segments of the thermo-modernisation market for housing construction and the achievement of the assumed objectives of the Polish climate policy. This can help speed up the necessary changes in Polish law, which are indispensable to increasing housing stock’s energy efficiency and to achieve related objectives in the fight against climate change.

Moreover, projects “ESCO business model” and “Spread of the EPC product for Polish cities” contribute to the development of new financial products to ESCOs and local governments, which significantly facilitate the implementation of deep thermo-modernisation projects for public buildings belonging to local governments using the EPC model.

What or who gives you hope or inspiration in the fight against climate change?

Observing the adverse effects in the environment and being aware that the main cause of these changes is human activity in the unstoppable quest for continuous development of civilization, I feel the internal need to limit the extent of damage to future generations through the irrational use of natural resources.

Working nearly 40 years as an expert in the field of effective building energy supply systems and an academic teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to pass on my knowledge and experience to a relatively large group of young engineers. The fact that some of them using their skills to achieve a high professional position and measurable results in the field of implementing technologies that protect the climate, gives me personal satisfaction and inspires me to continue working.

More information on the Building Market Brief Initiative can be found here and here.