Through its Ask an Expert assistance program, the Clean Energy Solutions Center has responded to two requests for assistance from the Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development Middle Albania (RCE Middle Albania).

The Albania Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy and the National Agency of Natural Resources are working towards the development and passage of an updated Law on Energy Efficiency that is designed to build a framework for enforcement and implementation of national energy efficiency priorities. To achieve Albania’s energy goals, governmental and business stakeholders identified two key action areas: residential energy efficiency and vocational energy efficiency training.

In response, RCE Middle Albania contacted the Solutions Center for assistance. RCE Middle Albania’s first request was to support residential energy efficiency in Albania. Demonstrating what energy efficiency retrofit projects could achieve, Solutions Center experts developed a guide that included case studies of whole-building retrofits in Europe for single and multi-family homes.

RCE Middle Albania submitted a second request for Solutions Center assistance in response to the second key action area—vocational energy efficiency training. This training is important because Albania’s national energy efficiency priorities include a requirement for licensing energy auditors through the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy. Audit requirements and energy savings performance contracting models will require a workforce of trained local professionals to provide efficiency services and support meeting energy efficiency goals.

RCE Middle Albania, particularly interested in the link between investment in energy efficiency and job creation, wanted to review best practices in energy efficiency education from the United States and Europe. The Solutions Center responded by researching and providing case studies that offer examples of larger-scale educational certification efforts and training programs.

Impact of Assistance

The resulting report will provide guidance and potential program models as Albania moves forward with a stronger legislative framework for energy efficiency.

The two guides produced by the Clean Energy Solutions Center for RCE Middle Albania have been extremely helpful in reaching our residential energy efficiency and energy efficiency training goals. Because I think this information could be useful for other regions, I recently shared the guides with other RCEs, who were very interested in them. — Kalterina Shulla, RCE Albania