Spain
Platform Coordinator
AVS - Asociación Española de Promotores Públicos de Vivienda y Suelo is a national body representing 164 public housing companies which provide social housing for owner occupation and manage a total rental housing stock of over 231.500 units. AVS aims are to urge the public authorities to provide the necessary condition to increase the productive public housing to help implement the right to housing as listed in the constitution, to boost sustainable development through sustainable urban policies such as the regeneration of historic neighbourhoods and city centres, and to promote sustainable construction and the reduction of poverty and social exclusion.
Description of the Platform
The Platform’s mission is to deliver services to build the capacity of their members in the field of green construction. Currently, 17 regional Housing Companies are active participants in the Spanish POWER HOUSE Platform. At national level the Platform collaborates strategically with the Spanish Ministry for housing, the CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre) and the Spanish branch of the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment. The Platform is also working with authorities at the level of the autonomous communities in Spain as this is the level at which laws governing buildings standards are formed and implemented.
Platform Strategy
“The results of the POWER HOUSE Needs Analysis survey made clear that one of the Spanish POWER HOUSE Platform's main tasks is to overcome the current information mismatch which is slowing progress at local level. Much of the available data and information on technologies, construction techniques and project management is not adapted to the Spanish context as it is produced with different climatic conditions in mind, often only available in English and not adapted to the context within which Spanish social housing providers operate. Access to appropriate financial tools is also a key aspect of the Spanish Platform's communications activities via the organisation of workshops, seminars and conferences. The Platform represents also a useful tool for speeding up market development by providing a forum for collaboration with private sector actors which may lead for example to large scale performance guarantees for new renewable energy systems which would reduce the risks associated with investment.” - Mr Carlos de Astorza, Spanish POWER HOUSE Platform coordinator tag heuer aquaracer replica.
Following a performance review, the Platform Coordinator has issued an updated strategy statement and priorities going forward:
"Bearing in mind Europe’s 2020 objectives, we should prepare ourselves not only technically but also "culturally", therefore, training and educating our neighbourhoods is our priority and programmes should be organized on this matter. From a technical point of view, there is a lot of interest within the Spanish POWER HOUSE Platform regarding the implementation of the Nearly Zero Energy Building strategy, which requires specific solutions in our Mediterranean country, whereas best practices from North European countries many times are not replicable. Furthermore, the requirement to renovate a 3% of our stock annually represents another challenge for us and we must be prepared for it. It is important to highlight the legal regulations with regard to standards and minimum requirements that will enable us to decide when a building should undergo renovation or not; in this sense, the energy certification and its implantation in Spain is crucial, and its regulatory monitoring is also considered a priority for the Platform’s members. Finally, all these actions need a strong financial support; for this reason, a better understanding of the functioning of ESCOs and clear information on how to access ERDF for financing energy efficiency measures are also priorities. Regarding the services that the Platform should offer to its members, for a country like Spain, with a significant lack of knowledge of other languages, the access to information remains a barrier that we have tried to overcome by translating into Spanish key documents and publications; this work has been very useful and have produced very positive feedbacks, therefore, we intend to continue in the future following this line.” - Mr Carlos de Astorza, Spanish POWER HOUSE Platform coordinator.
