Tag: — Europe

Frederikshavn, Denmark

Frederikshavn, Denmark

  • Target: 100% renewable energy by 2030
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Wind farm, thermal solar collectors, heated water storage, heat pump systems, geothermal energy, and district heating.
  • Implementation: Frederikshavn is a town located in Northern Denmark. In November 2006, a group of Danish energy experts came together for a project called "Energy Camp 06" and  identified Frederikshavn as the ideal location for a model "Energy City," which would shift to 100% renewable sources for electricity, transportation, and heating by 2015. Frederikshavn was chosen because it was a good size for the testing of energy technologies, there were already existing electricity and heating production plants as well as a wind farm research facility, and there was political will to carry out ambitious plans.
    In February 2007, the Frederikshavn City Council approved the Energy City plan, which would be completed over 3 phases. First, it would reach a 40% renewable energy target by 2009. Second, its renewable energy share would annually increase to reach 100% by 2015, with the capacity to exchange energy with surrounding areas. Third, the 100% renewable energy system would be further developed to enable Denmark as a whole to transform to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
    The first phase involved implementing 4 projects, offshore wind  project with a total capacity of 25 MW, 8000 m2 of thermal solar collectors that annually generate about 4 GWh with 1500 cubic meters of water heat storage and an absorption heat pump at the existing CHP plant, a facility that upgrades biogas from a local plant to natural gas quality that fuels cars and is used in the existing cogeneration plants, and finally a heat pump system at the town's waste water treatment plant that extracts 4 GWh of heat from the waste water and produce 6 GWh of heat for the district heating supply. To reach a 100% renewable energy supply by 2015, a waste incineration CHP plant was built. This project prioritises recycling before incineration, the remaining relatively small amount of waste is used to create heat and power via CHP technology. The heating grid was also expanded. Biomass boilers met industry heat demand, while homes not on the district heating grid are  retrofitted to use a combination of solar thermal and electric heat pumps. Then was the shift to electric, plug-in hybrid, and biogas in transportation. A  biogas plant was then built  for electricity, heat, and transportation fuel, using34 million tons of manure per year to produce biogas for the production of methanol, which can be used for district heating. Geothermal energy combined with heat pumps is added to the district heating supply. The rest of the city's energy demand is met by a 15 MW biogas CHP plant and  a 40 MW wind farm.
  • Population: 23,423 (2018)
  • Area: 651.04 km2 (251.37 sq mi)
  • Link: https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/energy-city-frederikshavn/solutions/master-plan-for-renewable-energy-2030/
Frederikshavn, Denmark

Freiamt, Germany

Freiamt, Germany

  • Target: 100% reliance on renewable sources for power and heat.
  • Status: Achieved - Freiamt consumes 12,000 MWh annually and generates 15,400 MWh annually with renewable resources.
  • RES: Wind power, biomass, biogas, solar, hydropower and a district heating system.
  • Implementation: Freiamt is a small township consisting of of five small villages located in Germany's Black Forest, in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. Taking advantage of laws that incentivize renewable energy, such as the feed-in tariff (Renewable Sources Act), this town uses a variety of renewable energy resources to produce more electricity than it needs—and makes profit by selling the excess to surrounding areas. Freiamt has also made progress in shifting to renewable sources for space heating and hot water. As of 2009, 120 homes were heated using efficient wood pellets, 75 homes used wood chips, and 150 homes used solar thermal collectors. The town aims to increase its renewable heating use, as well as to shift to renewables for transportation. Like many other German towns, Freiamt uses a mix of solar, wind, and biomass, with some hydropower. Local biomass provides fuel for its district heating system.
    The township achieved their 100% target via a series of small steps. This was so locals would become familiar with the technologies and their benefits over time. Any objections can be raised. They began with community cooperative projects. First a wind farm with two turbines was built. Local people were able to buy shares in the turbines, at minimum price of €3,000 (US$4,170). Then came the installation of solar arrays, with a PV array on town hall, and then on roofs of farm buildings. Today farmers own around 300 solar PV systems plus 150 solar thermal collectors being used for water heating. By combining solar PV and wind power, the township is able to balance the energy supplies due to changing weather conditions. The solar panels are able to provide power during times when wind speeds are low but the sunshine is strong. In addition to solar, small biogas co-generation plants were also installed by farmers. The plants convert agricultural waste to methane, which is burnt to provide heating for homes, or run turbines to generate more electrical power.
    Overall, the mix of renewable energy systems has been a success. Today there are five wind turbines that makes the township not only 100% renewable, but also an energy exporter. The township now produces about 14 million kWh of energy annually — about 3 million more than needed.
  • Population: 4,187 (2017)
  • Area: 52.92 km2 (20.43 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.freiamt.de/buerger/de/unsere-gemeinde/gemeinde/erneuerbare-energien/
Freiamt, Germany

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

  • Target: Freiburg Green City, using 100% renewable energy by 2050.
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Net-zero and passivhaus building practices, combined heat and power (CHP) generation, solar thermal and photovoltaics systems, and a district heating grid to provide domestic heating and hot water.
  • Implementation: Freiburg is located in south-west Germany, near the borders with France and Switzerland. It is home to universities, public research institutions and has one of Germany’s sunniest and warmest climates. The city has a population with a large proportion of whom are Green Party voters. Since the 1972 Anti-nuclear protests, citizens have pursued sustainable energy standards often above and beyond those set by the German federal government. In 2003, citizen groups began preparing a plan for the municipal council, which eventually became the backbone of Freiburg’s Land Use 2020 plan. The plan brought together community shareholders and civic officials. The focus would be threefold: energy savings, efficient technologies, and renewable energy sources. Action plans were detailed in relation to transportation, waste, water and energy sectors. Today, the Freiburg Environmental Policy provides short, mid and long-term goals for planning, development, and conservation for sustainability and efficiency.  These aspects govern Freiburg’s urban planning process in such a way that most development, or re-development, projects go far beyond the minimum energy standards and installation of renewable energy generation to also include net-zero and passivhaus building practices, combined heat and power (CHP) generation and a district heating grid to provide domestic heating and hot water.
  • Population: 229,636 (2017)
  • Area: 153.07 km2(59.10 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/mar/23/freiburg.germany.greenest.city
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Freisingerland, Germany

Mariendom, Freising, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity target by 2035
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar energy
  • Implementation: In 2005, 24 municipalities in the district of Freising, north of Munich, Germany decided to create the “Solar Region Freisingerland” with the target of 100% renewable electricity target by 2035. The idea was implemented together with many associations and organizations from the district. By establishing a cooperation agreement between "Sonnenkraft-Freising" as initiator and "Freisinger Land" (the regional marketing initiative at the time) as partner, the idea was able to be launched effectively. Though this initiative, the “Solar-Kreisliga” competition involving the municipalities was set up to stimulate the shift to renewable energy in the region. Towns would compete to attain the highest renewable energy generation compared with their recorded electricity consumption.By 2010, 6 municipalities had reached their 100% renewables electricity goal and were named energy champions. At this time, the region was already producing 54.6% electricity from renewables. The results were promoted via regular energy brochures and today, latest results are distributed to all political leaders in the district. Recently the "Bürgeringerergiegenossenschaft Freisinger Land" was established as a county-wide institution to assist citizens to better transition to renewable energy. It is estimated that if recent activities in renewable energy continue, the solar region could reach their goal of 100% renewables electricity by 2020. 
  • Population: 164,692 (2007)
  • Link: Solarregion Freisinger Land
Mariendom, Freising, Germany

Gothenburg, Sweden

Gothenburg, Sweden

  • Target: Fossil free by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: District heating, solar and wind power
  • Implementation: In the early 1990’s, Sweden shifted from oil to district heating. This helped to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in the housing and service sectors. Today, over 80 per cent of the heat and hot water provided to the country's apartment blocks come from district heating. By heating and cooling buildings from a central plant source, more sustainable and clean forms of fuel can be used. Many district heating networks are making use of recycled heat from industries – energy that would be wasted.

    Gothenburg is Sweden’s second-largest city. It has a 1,200 kilometres long district heating network, which heats 90 per cent of the city’s apartment blocks as well as 12,000 detached homes. Today, over 80% of the heat in the system is based on waste heat and recycled energy. When municipal-owned Gårdstensbostäder acquired Gårdsten in the late 90s, they managed to redevelop 500 apartments into solar houses. The apartments are also self- sufficient by wind power. The city has also enabled through its electric utilities policies, the option for consumers to buy into the eco-labeled district heating.
  • Population: 572,779 city, 1,015,974 metro (2016)
  • Area: 447.76 km2 (172.88 sq mi) city, 3,694.86 km2(1,426.59 sq mi) metro
  • Link: Fossil Free Gothenburg (PDF in Swedish)
Gothenburg, Sweden

Gotland, Sweden

Gotland, Sweden

  • Target: Climate-neutral energy supply by 2025
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Wind power
  • Implementation: The Swedish Island of Gotland is committed to having a climate-neutral energy supply by 2025. The objective is to use 100% local, renewable resources to meet all of the energy demand for households and business on Gotland, except for industrial fuels. Gotland has implemented an array of innovative renewable energy projects.  This is largely due to it having the highest sunlight strength in Sweden, is one of the top wind locations in Europe, and has good access to biofuels. The municipality's sustainability initiative already began in the early 1990s, with the aim of creating a sustainable society by 2025. This would not only apply for the energy sector, but also for all resources, agriculture, and waste. Since then, the municipality has already cut its CO2 emissions from fossil fuels nearly in half.  A quarter to half of the entire island's annual electricity demand is met with wind power, and heating is produced with biofuels from local forests. In 2010, Gotland installed its first biogas station for fueling cars and buses, which today totals four stations. In 2017, the first public filling station for HVO was opened. There are also several loading stations for electric vehicles across the island. Wind power development has since grown but existing sea cables have been found to be limited in capacity. The Swedish Government's National Energy Agency is conducting a feasibility study on Gotland as a pilot case for a renewable energy system smart grid to address this challenge.
  • Population: 58,595 (2017)
  • Area: 3,183.7 km2 (1,229.2 sq mi)
  • Link: Island of Gotland is Home to Sustainable Energy System Pilot Project
Gotland, Sweden

Großbardorf, Germany

Großbardorf, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: A solar photovoltaics farm, a biogas plant, a cogeneration plant and a district heating network.
  • Implementation: In the small Bavarian village of Großbardorf, local citizens invested and raised outside capital worth $19 million over four years to develop rooftop and larger scale solar systems, along with a biogas plant that feeds both a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and a district heating network. Combined, the projects generate 400% of the electricity the village’ needs and 50% of its heating demand. Großbardorf is considering expanding to new business opportunities that rely on its advanced heating network. One example is local fish farming tanks that use heat from the biogas plants to heat the water. Its citizens have also participated in Großbardorf's energy efforts in other ways. The community for example decided to invest in solar panels for the new roof of the town’s football stadium in  exchange for season tickets to games. The income from the electricity produced by the solar panels would pay off the expense of the new roof. The village's renewable energy success would not have been possible without the Renewable Sources Act (EEG), the German feed-in tariff (FIT). The law guarantees interconnection of renewables into the grid, payment of any needed grid upgrades by the utilities, and adequate, long term payment to renewable power generators for any electricity they feed in to the grid.
  • Population: 889 (2017)
  • Area: 16.54 km2 (6.39 sq mi)
  • Link: Energie-Kommune des Monats: Gemeinde Großbardorf
Großbardorf, Germany

Güssing, Austria

Güssing, Austria

  • Target: 100% renewable energy self-sufficiency.
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Biomass cogeneration and district heating system.
  • Implementation: Güssing is a small town in Austria, near the Hungarian border. Years ago, the town was struggling to pay for energy costs, today it is a trendsetter in the production renewable energies, particular in biomass gasification technology. Güssing implemented a renewable energy plan as part of an overall regional economic development and re-development plan. It started with a energy efficiency program in 1990, the town laid out plans to keep jobs and money in the area by taking ownership of their energy usage and production. The municipality would switch all the streetlights to LED and retrofit all the public buildings with new windows and insulation over a decade. The town also decided to stop using power produced by fossil fuels. Güssing’s agricultural and forestry provided the organic material for fuelling the community operated biomass district heating grids and in 2001, it began producing electricity and biogas in the world’s first functioning FICFB (Fast Internally Circulating Fluidized Bed) plant. Güssing’s success has let the way for the entire region of Burgenland to follow as energy prosumers. In 2013, the entire region produced enough locally produced electricity to cover demand. Güssing itself has become a tourist attraction for the renewable energy field, experiencing several hundred ecotourists a year. There have also been a substantial amount of businesses being established in, or have moved to, the region, resulting in an increase of local employment. The town now has 60 new companies, 1,500 new jobs, and annual revenues of $17 million due to energy sales. Güssing’s successes also attracted R&D, in particular was the foundation of the European Center for Renewable Energy founded in 1996 and remains central to Güssing's renewable energy industry today.
  • Population: 3,660 (2016)
  • Area: 49.31 km2 (19.04 sq mi)
  • Link: https://pocacito.eu/sites/default/files/ModelGüssing_Güssing.pdf
Güssing, Austria

Hartberg, Austria

Hartberg, Austria

  • Target: 100% CO2 neutral by 2020.
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: District heating system, biomass energy, and solar thermal and photovoltaic panels on all roofs.
  • Implementation: The city of Hartberg in Austria has set a 100% CO2-neutral target to include all buildings, industry as well as private households. The target is based on the CO2-neutral concept, elaborated by Joanneum Research, which had shown that a non-carbon society is not only necessary to mitigate climate change, but can also be extremely beneficial in terms of local added value. For the past 20 years, several measures have been implemented by the city.  In 2015, many important milestones were achieved, including supplying heat to all buildings through a district heating system that runs on woodchips, purchasing only renewable electricity from hydro-, wind- and solar power stations,  installing as much solar-thermal energy as possible and covering all available roof-surfaces with photovoltaic-cells. The involvement of different stakeholders was instrumental in Hartberg's success. Discussions were extensive and included private individuals, universities, energy experts, car-sharing providers, e-car pioneers, biogas pioneers, and so forth. However the most important partners in such a project were the local politicians, the local authorities, the district heating supplier and a local utility company.
  • Population: 6,534 (2016)
  • Area: 21.58 km2 (8.33 sq mi)
Hartberg, Austria

Hessen (State), Germany

Hessen (State), Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity and heat by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Wind power, hydropower, biomass, biofuels, solar thermal and PV and district heating systems.
  • Implementation: In 2010, the State of Hessen in Germany made the commitment to transition to 20% renewable heat and power by 2020. However, a more drastic change in policy was in order due to the concerns on the impact of climate change and the events of nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The move away from fossil and nuclear power towards renewable energy and accelerated energy efficiency became imperative. In January 2012, a strategy was therefore presented on how to achieve 100% renewable electricity and heat by 2050. Essential to the strategy was to increase the energy efficiency and to restructure the existing energy system from a central to a decentralised one with smaller, more flexible power plant units. At the same time, the energy network will be expanded and adapted to meet the new requirements.

    The energy transition will require the support and active participation of the private households, municipalities and businesses. To do so, the government has developed concepts to support its citizens and stakeholders with tailored investing, non-investment projects, comprehensive information and counselling services, and legislative initiatives at the federal level. Since 2012, the state government has dedicated a budget of 80 million euros for relevant energy projects. The strategy will call for the expansion of renewable energy installations, particularly in wind, solar and biomass, and the integration of smart energy management systems.
  • Population: 6,243,262 (2017)
  • Area: 21,100 km2(8,100 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.energieland.hessen.de/Home
Hessen (State), Germany