Partner of the
public authorities

RenoClick, one-stop shop

For several years now, Sibelga has been supporting public authorities through various services linked to energy efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases: renovation of boiler rooms, installation of solar panels, implementation of an energy accounting tool for analysing and monitoring consumption, etc. Since 2021, Sibelga has also been setting up, with the support of NextGenerationEU, a programme dedicated to in-depth renovation work on public buildings as part of the Brussels government’s major aid and support plan for the renovation of buildings, RENOLUTION.

In 2022, all these services were brought together in a one-stop shop: RenoClick.

In short, public authorities can use RenoClick to:

• extensively renovate a public building;renovate and insulate a roof;
• install solar panels;
• carry out HVAC (heating and ventilation) work;
• monitor their energy consumption;
• use service providers or sign up for energy contracts via the central purchasing office.

“By bringing all these services together in a one-stop shop, Sibelga is providing the Brussels public authorities with a complete sustainable energy renovation programme, in collaboration with the Region and Brussels Environment,” says Thomas Raes, Head of Customer Account & Energy Transition Solutions at Sibelga.

Towards an in-depth renovation of Brussels’ public buildings

Since 2021, Sibelga has been laying the foundations for a new service to support Brussels public authorities in the thorough and sustainable renovation of their buildings. This means work on both the shell of these buildings (roof insulation, façades, replacement of windows, etc.) and on equipment (heating, ventilation, lighting, rainwater recovery, etc.).

The Brussels municipalities are actively involved in this project. In February 2022, a file was submitted to the EU with a view to obtaining the European City Facility grant. As the dossier had to be submitted by a municipality, it was the municipality of Schaerbeek that submitted the request for subsidies for the 19 municipalities and Sibelga. “We obtained the grant in the spring and have since been asked several times by the European Commission to give lectures and inspire other cities to submit dossiers,” explains Thomas Raes, Head of Customer Account & Energy Transition Solutions at Sibelga.

In addition, a new central purchasing unit within RenoClick, dedicated to building renovation, was set up in January 2022. It has already registered about 50 memberships. This centre will enable the beneficiary public authorities to easily and quickly call on competent partners to carry out the studies and execution of the works. These partners will be selected via public tenders organised by Sibelga.

The first contract for the framework contract “Consultancy & Architects” was published in March 2022. More than a dozen major consultancies have expressed interest. Following the award of the contract in the first quarter of 2023, the first studies will be able to be commissioned from the second quarter of 2023.

Finally, some forty visits were made to Brussels public buildings that are candidates for in-depth renovation in order to assess the potential and give an initial budget estimate. “This is a quick scan, i.e. a quick assessment without a thorough study. This first step determines whether the project is eligible. It is then up to the public authorities to decide whether they want to go ahead or not,” says Thomas Raes.

More energy efficiency without loss of comfort

In the course of 2022, 15 boiler rooms in public buildings were renovated with the help of Sibelga, including the boiler room in the “Les Heures Douces” residence of the CPAS in Ixelles. This rest and care home has completely renovated its entire heating and hot water system.

As the entire building remained inhabited and occupied during the works, the operations were carefully planned to ensure the residents’ comfort. The new heat production unit was built in parallel with the existing one, which remained operational during the entire construction period. “We have installed a more efficient and economical heating system, designed to produce only the heat required. In addition, a redundancy system was created to ensure the continuity of heating, even if one of the two new boilers breaks down,” comments Nikolaas Bogaerts, Low Carbon Solutions Manager at Sibelga.

Thanks to new thermostatic valves on all radiators, the temperature in all rooms can be better controlled.

In total, this work will lead to an estimated reduction in consumption of 25 to 35%, which represents 40 to 56 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

New: Sibelga supports roof renovation

After equipping more than 100 roofs of public buildings with solar panels between 2018 and 2021 with the SolarClick programme, from 2023 Sibelga will also offer support to public authorities in renovating roofs. “During the SolarClick project, we realised that there was also a need for roof renovation and insulation. This service enables public authorities to completely renovate the roofs of their buildings, whether or not they are to be fitted with solar panels. In all cases, it is a complete renovation, with the aim of installing a robust and insulated roof, with a life span of at least 30 years,” explains Nikolaas Bogaerts, Low Carbon Solutions Manager at Sibelga. In 2022, several contracts related to this new service were awarded.

In addition, Sibelga continues to support projects for the installation of solar panels for public buildings. These projects can be carried out with people’s own funds or via a third-party investor. At the end of October 2022, the CityDev buildings, located in a housing estate in Neder-Over-Heembeek, were equipped with 349 panels with an installed capacity of 132.62 kWp. “These are sheds that house SMEs in the start-up phase. This project was 100% funded by CityDev. Sibelga was responsible for the study and follow-up, right up to commissioning,” says Nikolaas Bogaerts. 

Public authorities green their fleet with MobiClick

The MobiClick programme aims to make clean vehicles and appropriate recharging solutions available to all public authorities that so wish.

In concrete terms, a dedicated central purchasing unit enables them to acquire electric or CNG vehicles and charging stations for their sites (including installation, connection and maintenance). In particular, this operation allows them to reduce their administrative burden (no need to organise a public contract), to obtain attractive prices and to benefit from Sibelga’s expertise in monitoring the market and selecting suppliers. Almost 50 public authorities have already joined the centre. In 2022, 18 requests for tenders were processed and 13 orders were placed.