Tag: — Europe

Iceland

Reykjavik, Iceland

  • Target: 100% renewable energy target in the electricity sector
  • Status: Achieved - >99% of the electricity production and >70% of the total energy production come from hydropower and geothermal sources. The country´s buildings are mostly heated with renewable energy and overall 81% of Iceland’s primary energy is renewable, with the remaining 19% based on oil which is used for transportation.
  • RES: Hydropower and geothermal resources. Iceland is a volcanic island with plentiful geothermal heat.
  • Implementation: The country is successful due to its geothermal-based electricity production. In relation to heating, after geothermal water is used for heating buildings, the rest - pavements and car parking are also heated. The island´s vast geothermal capacity is also enabling regional cooperation with the UK, with the construction of an interconnector into the UK grid currently in discussion. Energy projects have largely been developed as part of the Icelandic Clean Energy initiatives, a Research Fund, a Technology Development Fund and a Strategic Research Programme, which include the involvement of Iceland's Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and Ministry of Industry & Innovation.
  • Population: 355,620 (2018)
  • Area: 102,775 km2 (39,682 sq mi)
  • Link: Iceland's Sustainable Energy Story: A Model for the World?
Reykjavik, Iceland

Jämtland County, Sweden

Jämtland, Sweden

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Hydropower, windpower, cogeneration and biofuels.
  • Implementation: Jämtland County is the third largest county in Sweden. The largest share of electricity production in Jämtland (93%) is generated from hydropower (11.2 TWh in 2013). The county has 83 hydropower plants. The remaining 5% of electricity generation is based on wind power (0.6 TWh in 2014) and 2% is based on bioenergy (0.2 TWh).

    Jämtland County first became motivated to switch from fossil fuel use during the 1973 oil crisis. At that time, oil made up more than 80% of the heating fuel mix. Today, no heating oil is used. The County’s Energy Agency has provided an educational program about the benefits of renewables, which has encouraged local citizens to make the switch.

    Due to its abundant forest resources, well-developed infrastructure in forests, expertise in logistics and district heating, Jämtland's bioenergy production is flourishing. There is strong political support and backing by the municipal and regional authorities. Östersund municipality, Jämtland's only city, has facilitated this development by setting ambitious climate change policies and targets and has shown proactive municipal leadership. There is also a high interest among other regional actors (local energy companies, forest owners associations, networks and knowledge institutions) in tapping the new opportunities for utilizing forest- and waste-based biomass in the bioeconomy. Bioenergy expansion is said to be attributed to the use of economic instruments such as a carbon dioxide tax, green electricity certificates, tax exemption for biofuels in transport, and direct investment support. Support for bioenergy started already in the 80s’ when investment grants were given to convert boilers and heat plants from oil to other fuels, including biofuels.

    Overall, stable EU and national regulatory frameworks has been fundamental to advancing the bio-based industries in Jämtland and Sweden in general.
  • Population: 127 376 (2015)
  • Area: 34,009 km²
  • Link: NordRegion Working Paper
Jämtland, Sweden
Östersund, Sweden

Jühnde, Germany

Jühnde, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Mainly bio-energy, some solar photovoltaics.
  • Implementation: Wildpoldsried is a small village located in Lower Saxony in Northern Germany. In 2006, Jühnde became the first village in Germany to be energy self-sufficient. The municipality is using 25% of municipal farmland and 10% of forest land to supply 100% of its heating and more than 200% of its electricity needs with bio-energy, such as methane from cow manure and wood chips. Jühnde, like many other German towns that have successfully achieved high uptake of renewables, has benefited from the German Feed-in Tariff Law or Renewable Sources Act (EEG), which encourage robust investment in renewable technologies, like solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro, including local participation. In Germany, the majority of installed renewable energy is owned by citizens, farmers, and small businesses.
  • Population: 985 (2017)
  • Area: 24.49 km2 (9.46 sq mi)
  • Link: (Also in English) http://www.bioenergiedorf.de/home.html
Jühnde, Germany

Kisielice, Poland

Kisielice, Poland

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity
  • Status: Achieved - The town achieved the 100% target in September 2014.
  • RES: Three windfarms, a biomass CHP plant, a biogas power plant, and a district heating system.
  • Implementation: The small town of Kisielice in northern Poland is an extraordinary example of local energy transformation. It is a pioneering model for a country which relies 90% on coal for the generation of electricity. The town achieved its 100% target in 2014 by adopted small, localised solutions. Part of the town electricity is delivered by two wind farms which together consist of 50 wind turbines with a total capacity of 94.5MW. A third 24MW wind farm is under construction and already partly operating. Local farmers get an extra income of about 5,000 €  per year for the lease of each wind turbine installed on their land.  A 6MW biomass CHP plant generates electricity by burning cereal straws which are purchased from local farmers. The plant is connected to a district heating system which provides heating to 250 buildings, i.e. serving more than 90% of the local population. When the construction of a biogas power plant driven by silage corn was completed in December 2013, the town was able to produce an extra 1 MW of heat and 1 MW of electricity. Since then, the municipality is planning to invest in a solar PV farm as well as financing local micro solutions such as small wind turbines, roof solar panels and heat pumps for local residences.
  • Population: 2,183 (2017)
  • Area: 3.37 km2 (1.30 sq mi)
  • Link: https://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/18/polish-town-100-renewable-energy/
Kisielice, Poland

Knežice, Czech Republic

Kněžice, Czech Republic

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Biogass and biomass plants
  • Implementation: Knežice is a small village located around 80 km from Prague)  in the Czech Republic. Today it is energy self-sufficient thanks to a bioenergy facility, which consists of a biogas plant with CHP (330 kWel and 400 kWth) and a biomass heating plant (boilers 800+400 kW). The technology supplies the population with more than 90% heat and produces significantly more electricity than the village consumes, so that electricity can be sold. Additionally, the use of biogas units solves the problem in Knežice of organic waste processing. The centre operated by the municipality also produces pellets for heating houses in the neighbouring area. The village has also won the Czech solar award from EUROSOLAR and is beginning to promote its successes in a new information centre in a former mill. It also leads a micro-region of five municipalities that have recently signed the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) and are preparing a joint SEAP. The major driving force of events is mayor Milan Kazda.
  • Population: 510 (2006)
  • Area: 7.56 sq mi (19.57 km2)
  • Link: http://www.nupharo.com/community/knezice-village
Kněžice, Czech Republic

Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria

Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria

  • Target: 100% energy autonomous by 2020
  • Status: In progress -  To date, the energy-self-sufficiency coefficient (the ratio between regional energy demand and regional renewable energy generated) is around 75%.
  • RES: 21 small hydropower plants, 3 ecological storage lakes, 4 district biomass heating plants, 1 windpower plant, 1 biogas plant, several big and private photovoltaic and solar power plants.
  • Implementation: Since 2007 Kötschach-Mauthen in Austria has been known as an energy autonomous (energy independent) community. The town has a very long history in renewable energy, with the first waterpower plant built in 1886. By 2008, the “energie:autark Kötschach-Mauthen” association had been founded. The community  joined the Climate Alliance and the energy efficient communities program of the European Energy Award (known as e5-program in Austria). In 2012, the town was awarded with the European Energy Award ® Gold and five “e” in the e5-program. Today, there several different types of renewable energy installations. The town conducts guided tours for tourists, researchers and school groups  which combines nature experiences with visits to regional product centers and RES installations
  • Population: 3,459 (2016)
  • Area: 154.48 km2 (59.65 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.energie-autark.at/show_content.php?sid=95
Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria

Kronprinzenkoog, Germany

Neo-gothic church, Kronprinzenkoog, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar photovoltaics and biogas plants
  • Implementation: Kronprinzenkoog is a small town in the Dithmarschen district near the North Sea in Germany. In the 1980s, the town installed its first wind turbines. In 2009, the 150 kW-500kW 77 turbines were replaced with more powerful, more efficient 2-3 MW models. Today, these windmills feed about 200 million kWh into the grid, enough to power 50,000 German homes. Two of the windmills are collectively owned by 140 villagers who had invested 3.6 million euros and who are now receiving a 15-20% return on their investment. The good returns can be attributed to the German feed-in tariff law (The Renewable Sources Act also known as the EEG) which guarantees that anyone in Germany who produces renewable electricity will be paid a fixed rate for the type of renewable electricity they feed into the grid for 20 years. This law also guarantees access of renewable energy projects into the grid and makes utilities pay for any necessary grid upgrades. In other words, the EEG allows regular people to become power producers and get paid properly. In addition to the feed-in tariff law, highly efficient and simple permitting processes for renewable electricity speeds up installation. The town has also implemented a 500 kW biogas plant on a farm, which produces enough energy to power 3,200 households, and 7,117 kW of solar PV have also been installed  in recent years. Most solar roofs are paid back within 10 years, after which owners get to keep the profits. To move towards renewable transportation, the town has opened an electric bike/car rental facility powered by a solar rooftop, and is planning several solar powered electric charging stations along the whole German north coast.
  • Population: 811 (2017)
  • Area: 28.85 km2 (11.14 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.shz.de/lokales/norddeutsche-rundschau/kronprinzenkoog-ist-sonnenstark-id1064511.html
Neo-gothic church, Kronprinzenkoog, Germany

Le Thouarsais, France

Chateau des ducs de La Tremoille, Thouars, France

  • Target: 100% RE
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Wind power and biogas.
  • Implementation: Le Thouarsais is a group of 33 communes, located in the Poitou-Charente region of France. Its core city is Thouars. Commited to fight against climate change, the Thouarsais territory aims to make renewable energy the vector of economic growth and social development in the area. In 2001, it implemented the framework "Conseil en Energie Portage". By 2007, the Local Climate initiatives contract enabled local authorities and stakeholders to be involved in the transition process, alongside the Ademe (French national energy agency) and the Poitou-Charentes Region. They would work together to: (1) reduce greenhouse gas emissions before 2050 and (2) become a positive energy territory. To date, the number of renewable energy projects in the region is multiplying, from the centralized methanization unit “TIPER” (3 MW) involving around 50 farmers, to a 36 MW wind park.
  • Population: 36, 176 (2013)
  • Area: 620 km²
Chateau des ducs de La Tremoille, Thouars, France
  • Chateau des ducs de La Tremoille Thouars © Sevrein CC BY-SA 3.0

Linköping, Sweden

Linköping, Sweden

  • Target: 100% renewable energy sources for fuel, heating and electricity.
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Biogas as biofuels, district heating and cooling systems.
  • Implementation: In the 1970s, Linköping was suffering from air pollution because of emissions from diesel-fuelled public buses. An alternative fuel was found in methane-rich biogas since it was clean-burning and cheaper than expensive oil imports. In 1995, the city in cooperation with Tekniska Verken, the municipal services provider and the Linking University decided to form an associated company with shared ownership, called Linköping Biogas AB (now Svensk Biogas). It began work with the farmers’ association, transit authorities, and other actors to implement a biogas project. The biogas would be made by turning waste products (wastewater, residues from local agricultural activities, meat processing industries and restaurants) into methane. The production would reduce the need for environmentally destructive landfills and waste incinerators, and reduce the volume of waste sent for incineration. The biogas project has contributed to the city’s economy, by increasing the competitiveness and productiveness of local farmers through the production of biogas and bio-fertilisers. By 2002, the entire city bus fleet and about 90% of the taxi fleet were bio-methane driven. In 2005, the world’s first biogas train became operational in Linköping. Since 2010 the City of Linking created its own car pool of around 25 vehicles that run on biogas. The cars are used by municipality employees during the daytime for work-related travel and are available for the general public in the evenings and at weekends. Besides biogas, the city is investing in co-generation for producing electricity, and providing district heating and district cooling from waste incineration.
  • Population: 104,232 (city), 158,841 (metro)(2010)
  • Area: 42.16 km2 (16.28 sq mi)
Linköping, Sweden

Lolland, Denmark

Lolland, Denmark

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Wind energy
  • Implementation: By 2006, the island of Lolland off the coast of Denmark was already producing 50% more power from wind than it could consume. It was decided that the best use of the excess renewable electricity was for the production of hydrogen for a hydrogen fuel cell plant. A hydrogen fuel cell is similar to a battery but requires a continuous feed of hydrogen and oxygen to work. Energy is needed to split water molecules (H2O) into its components hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O2). By using wind energy for this purpose, the hydrogen fuel cell plant was 100% renewable. Several major milestones in fuel cell cogeneration development on Lolland are of note. In November 2006, the first demonstration facility for residential Hydrogen Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power (CHP)was built in the island's town of Nakskov and began producing both electricity and usable heat . In 2008, the facility was connected to existing island buildings. Small 2 kW Hydrogen Fuel Cell CHP units were also installed in 5 homes to show that houses could become their own efficient, secure, decentralized production units of heat and power, without any need for large, centralized utilities. Between 2010 and 2012, the decentralized Fuel Cell CHP program was expanded to 35-40 homes.
  • Population: 62,578 (2013)
  • Area: 1,243 km2 (480 sq mi)
  • Link: http://climatebuildings.dk/vestenskov.php
Lolland, Denmark