The market for Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) for buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is in early stages of development. However, both countries are making significant progress in not only diversifying their economies toward lesser dependence on oil but also toward more environmental sustainability. The UAE is many years ahead of the KSA in, both, the initiatives to support the growth of the EPC market as well as the legal framework to make it into an industry. Dubai, especially, has outpaced the other Emirates by helping the EPC market gain momentum by launching the Etihad Energy Service Company (ESCO).

Energy savings pay for the initial investment in energy efficiency measures and the supplier’s remuneration is linked to the savings achieved. This risk-and-reward scheme is particularly pronounced in performance contracting offerings.

This growth insight aims to analyze the EPC market in the UAE and the KSA and its trends up to 2020.

Research Scope:

The study period is 2015–2020, with 2015 as the base year.

The industrial EPC market is excluded in this study.

The UAE is in early stages of the growth phase. With increased government efforts in the form of Green Agenda and the establishment of the Etihad ESCO as a Master ESCO , significant changes in UAE are expected to give a positive boost to the EPC market. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has a long road ahead in the development of the EPC market. The market dynamics were working against the growth and development of the market. However, with low oil prices and shift of focus toward optimization and sustainability, the market is likely to attract new investments in energy management. Advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) indicate an opportunity that ESCOs can exploit through convergence of building technologies with ICT. Such developments in technology are expected to improve efficiency and energy savings.

Of late, governments in the GCC have gradually been increasing electricity tariffs, forcing end users to improve efficiency to reduce long-term operating costs. Governments in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have included energy efficiency at the top of their economic agenda in order to reduce the long-term impact of high energy consumption on their economy. Especially in the UAE, there are several initiatives driven by government funding such as DIES and DSM Strategy of Energy, along with the formation of Etihad ESCO. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) has launched the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program (SEEP).

Key Questions This Study will Answer:

1.     What is the size of opportunities for energy performance contracting in the UAE and the KSA?
2.     What are the kind of companies that participate in this market?
3.     Which are the key end-user segments that present market opportunities for EPC?
4.     How is the market expected to grow in the future?