Cooling as a Service (CaaS)

The document describes Cooling as a Service (CaaS) as a pay-per-service model that removes upfront costs for customers by having service providers own and maintain energy-efficient cooling equipment. It highlights the role of sale-leaseback arrangements with banks to scale financing and identifies Nigeria's ColdHubs as a practical application for solar-powered cold storage. The text also notes the importance of legal frameworks, national energy efficiency policies, and the potential for CaaS implementation in 21 countries that prioritized urban planning in their NDCs.

• Cooling as a Service (CaaS) is a pay-per-service model where customers pay for the cooling they consume rather than investing in the technology upfront. The service provider or financier maintains ownership and responsibility for utility bills, which incentivizes the use of the most energy-efficient equipment.
• To scale CaaS, providers can use a sale-leaseback model with commercial banks, where the bank purchases the equipment and leases it back to the provider to unlock necessary capital.
• In Nigeria, the social enterprise ColdHubs applies the CaaS model by operating solar-powered walk-in cold rooms in markets and aggregation centers, charging farmers and retailers a fixed daily price per 20kg crate for storage.
• Successful CaaS implementation requires a combination of cooling contracts, a functioning legal and regulatory framework to enforce those contracts, national energy efficiency policies, and the participation of local commercial banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
• There is significant potential for CaaS in 21 countries that identified urban planning and infrastructure as priorities in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. The SADC Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) is supporting this through its Industrial Energy Efficiency Program (SIEEP) running from 2018-2023.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). Cooling as a Service (CaaS). https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/cooling-as-a-service-caas-2/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Cooling as a Service (CaaS). 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/cooling-as-a-service-caas-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Cooling as a Service (CaaS) |date=16 September 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/cooling-as-a-service-caas-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021cooling, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Cooling as a Service (CaaS)}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/cooling-as-a-service-caas-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }