Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are not a new concept, but are used to a far greater extent elsewhere in the world.
ESCOs can offer significant benefits and can exemplify the concept of distributed
generation by bringing people ‘closer’ to their sources of energy. This project seeks to identify barriers and stimulate the uptake of ESCOs in Manchester and the Northwest. It aims to:-

• Identify opportunities for energy services;
• Help develop these opportunities through illustrated case studies;
• Identify potential issues and barriers to their implementation;
• Develop a group of interested parties who can play role in progressing future projects.

The Trafford Park Carbon Reduction Project commenced in December 2006. It stemmed from one of the flagship projects in the “Manchester Is My Planet” initiative where it was seen that a project to demonstrate a “Low Carbon Industrial Estate” would be beneficial to businesses in Greater Manchester. The idea was to work with a group of companies jointly to help them through a programme to understand and reduce their carbon emissions. Much of the work was undertaken with individual companies but they were also brought together at regular intervals to discuss carbon reduction actions and to meet suppliers of appropriate low carbon technologies and services.

The study has found that CO2 savings of 20% are achievable through such interventions in the short term. The methodology is developed and can now be replicated across Manchester.