Towards a rational framework for economic and risk assessment of energy efficiency projects

•Introduces a new framework for evaluating energy efficiency projects.•Combines technical, economic, and risk evaluation in one comprehensive framework.•Incorporates stochastic risk analysis to improve decision-making.•Demonstrates framework applicability in a real-world application.•Empowers decision-makers to select optimal energy efficiency projects. Shifting towards a low-carbon and sustainable economy requires both a shift to Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and a significant increase in Energy Efficiency (EE) targets. This paper introduces a novel, user-friendly, and step-by-step framework for the techno-economic and risk-based assessment of EE Projects (FEEP). The four-stage methodology represents a step beyond traditional methods by systematically identifying intervention areas, conducting technical evaluations, and providing a comprehensive tool for economic and risk assessment. The proposed tool may empower decision-makers to select the most suitable approaches for the economic viability analysis of future projects. The framework incorporates environmental assessment, quantifying anticipated CO2 reductions from EE measures. A real-world case study demonstrates how the new framework allows structuring the decision-making process under a reliable and straightforward approach, providing additional confidence to the investors through visual risk assessment indicators. The paper concludes with how managers and EE analysts of private and public institutions can take advantage of the proposed methodology to evaluate and benchmark a broader range of EE initiatives.