TNEI identifies £15 million worth of energy savings through Midas programme
In 2006, regional development agency, One NorthEast launched Midas, a £1.6 million programme to offer North East businesses expert consultancy advice to help deliver resource efficiencies.
TNEI Services was appointed to deliver the programme with a brief to cut energy bills, manage waste and water costs as well as raising awareness about resource efficiency in business across the region.
The programme ended in September 08 and the final results exceeded expectations:
- £15 million worth of identified energy savings
- £5 million worth of implemented savings
- A reduction of 40,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions
- 700 North East companies helped to manage their energy, waste and water issues
The programme gained national and international recognition for the major environmental contribution it made with awards from the Green Apple Charity and nominations for Environmental Excellence and carbon reduction from the edie environmental awards and the Energy Institute.
In addition to the energy and carbon savings, the Midas programme also boosted the North East’s “green” economy – with over a million pounds invested into regional consultancy services. TNEI acted as a broker marrying service providers with clients to ensure the smooth and packaged delivery of energy and resource efficiency projects.
Midas helped many companies gain the competitive advantage and shore up their business operations in preparation for tough economic times and spiralling energy costs.
The programme offered businesses a free diagnostic report highlighting potential areas of energy, waste and water savings. Companies then accessed subsidised consultancy support to investigate these opportunities further. The service was available to companies of all sizes in the private sector but focused on those that were experiencing the greatest challenges in relation to resource use and impact from landfill tax.
It is widely recognised that a large part of the programme’s success was due to the team delivering Midas. TNEI’s energy management knowledge and wider wind and emerging energy expertise ensured that all energy and resource recommendations were not only viable, but often far reaching, with proposals extending to the implementation of on-site renewable energy including Combined Heat and Power (CHP), wind turbines, Bio-Mass and other renewable sources. TNEI put the teams and tools in place to deliver the changes recommended as well as helping to identify subsidised assistance wherever possible.