Energy efficiency as a key factor for the sustainability pathway of organizations. The case of the European Space Agency ESA-ESRIN in Rome

Within the framework of the European 2020 strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the euro zone, the European Council committed to the achievement by 2020 of the following targets (also referred to as “20-20-20 goals”): - 20% emission reduction of greenhouse gases compared to 1990 levels; - 20% increment in the use of renewable energy for the coverage of EU energy demands. This commitment also includes 10% biofuel use of the total fuel consumption in the transport sector; - 20% emission reduction of the primary energy consumption compared to the levels originally forecasted in 2007 (so called business as usual scenario, BAU). The targets related to the 20-20-20 Strategy had to be adapted from the Community level to the different national contexts. The commitments assigned to each Member State were determined according to parameters such as the GDP growth, the added value of productive sectors, and the energy international price. In this context, the real case study of the ESA ESRIN facility in Italy has been investigated. The aim of the work is to demonstrate how a complex facility could participate in achieving of the EU 20-20-20 goals through the improvement of energy performance and environmental sustainability. The target related to CO2 emissions level, total energy consumption and renewable energy penetration had to be adapted to the particular context, in order to perform a compliance analysis of the local situation of ESA ESRIN facility to the European 20-20-20 Strategy. ESA ESRIN facility is located in Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati (RM). Its size is approximately 35.000 sqm and serves almost 1.000 employees on site, plus a large number of visitors attending ESA conferences. The site consists of 20 buildings, 2 main data centres (Corporate IT and Earth Observation), ESA Archive, 2 power stations, antennas, sport facilities (gym, tennis and football), canteen and bar, conference facilities, solar thermal and photovoltaic installations. The most relevant energy users are Data Centres (including UPS, HVAC, power distribution, etc.) and office buildings (AHUs, heating boilers, lighting, power distribution, etc.). Energy carriers enter ESA-ESRIN site as: electricity from the grid, electricity from local photovoltaic production, natural gas, thermal energy from local solar production, diesel for emergency generators.