RE-COGNITION – Renewable, cogeneration and storage technologies integration for energy autonomous buildings
RE-COGNITION aims to pave the way for large-scale deployment of building-level Renewable Energy Sources and increase their share in the energy mix of EU in a safe and secure way for the grid.
The main ambition of the RE-COGNITION is to develop a future and technology-proof integrated solution aiming to maximise the utilisation of the energy that is locally produced by building-level renewable energy technologies and to reduce implicitly and explicitly induced costs, towards Zero Energy Building’s realisation.
To this end, the project aims to deploy a Renewable Energy Integration Framework able to seamlessly incorporate existing, as well as newly developed Renewable Energy Sources and storage components, along with peripheral electrical and thermal loads (HVAC, chillers, ICT devices, EV chargers, conventional load equipment, etc.).
The project’s idea settles on two axes:
- The main focus will be on the development of the non-intrusive and scalable Cross-Functional RES Integration Platform. In its heart, the Automated Cognitive Energy Management Engine (ACEME) along with an intelligent Gateway (iGateway) will be deployed, for optimally harnessing the energy generated from each of the available energy resources, taking into account real-time consumption, operation of storage units, and grid conditions.
- RE-COGNITION will progress beyond the current State of the Art in the field of less mature renewable technologies (Building Integrated Photovoltaic, Vertical-Axis Variable Geometry Wind Turbine) and more established constant-source ones (micro-CHP based on biogas) for the building environment, along with optimally designed system peripherals (i.e. latent-heat thermal storage and hybrid system, driven from solar-thermal power for cooling purposes).
Find more about the project here: https://re-cognition-project.eu/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research & innovation programme under grant agreement n° 815301.
WEBINAR RECORDING -NEW DEMAND RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES
The webinar recording for “New demand response technologies and services” is now available. Please click on the ‘play’ button below.
Tartu Virtual Baltic Smart City Dialogue, May 12/19/26
The city of Tartu is at the forefront of the smart city development in Estonia. Growing from this experience, the virtual dialogue will focus on local cooperation models, presenting and comparing experiences from Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany, as well as on digital governance and smart climate neutral cities. Webinars are divided into three sessions: (12.05) Digital Public Services, (19.05) Smart ZeroCO2 Cities and (26.05) Public and Private Cooperation Models. During the sessions the experts from four countries will share their experiences and participants can present their best practices on local smart city initiatives. Participation is free but registration is required: https://forms.gle/dx5wPY4vWvFzA7cf6
https://balticsmartcity.com/
EV charging smart management to balance the electric grid in a condition of high penetration of distributed generation from renewable energy sources
Following the advent of distributed generation, the electric grid underwent an essential change in power flows. The grid had been designed and developed based on the fact that energy had a unidirectional power flow. Electricity had to be produced in massive power plants from which, through the high voltage (HV) network, the energy had to be transmitted into the consumption areas, where it would reach the end-user, through the medium voltage (MV) network and the low voltage (LV) network.
Currently, the paradigm is modified. We have generation plants, mainly from renewable sources (solar and wind), distributed in the MV/LV network. When the energy produced by these plants is higher than the energy consumed by the end-users present in the local electricity network, the power flow becomes reversed. It goes to the primary substations (HV/MV transformation stations).
The phenomenon of reverse power flow causes instability and safety problems in the electricity grid, like voltage rise, frequency imbalance and tripping equipment, issues that the DSO have to solve to guarantee the continuity of the energy service. To understand the complexity of this phenomenon, we must consider that it is generated mainly by seasonal and non-programmable generation plants, which are strongly influenced by atmospheric conditions, making it very difficult to predict its progression. For this reason, at the dawn of distributed generation, the most widely practised solution was curtailment, i.e. disconnecting generation plants from renewable sources when instability occurred in the electricity grid.
Today, thanks to the process of digitizing the electricity grid, the reaction strategy is changing. The network is equipped with devices that allow remote monitoring and management in real-time. The owners and managers of the grid collect immense amounts of data that are processed by forecasting algorithms, which provide useful information to avoid the emerging of reverse power flow.
An application of this information can be found in Demand Response, a mechanism used for the time-shifting of end-users’ consumption according to the needs of the network. In the first DR, campaigns were considered the loads shifting of the device about 3 kW such as the washing machine or the electric oven since the electric mobility arrived the potential flexibility to be provided has radically changed. An electric vehicle on average can be represented as a 30 kW energy load. Thus allowing EV owners to participate in flexibility market to obtain a full charge from energy generated from renewable sources at advantageous prices by helping the DSO to manage energy flows in the grid, avoiding reverse power flows and smart integrating renewable energies.
This mechanism will be improved and tested during eDREAM project, thanks to different components designed and developed as electricity consumption/production forecasting, baseline flexibility estimation, closed-loop DR verification engine, DR verification and financial settlement, blockchain-driven control for LV networks, in-depth learning forecasting and DR strategies optimization.
JRC report on energy poverty
Over 50 million people in the EU experienced energy poverty in 2018, concludes recent report by JRC under European Commission. The report highlights the impact of the energy poverty to be the lack of access to essential energy services required for the decent standard of living. Report is available in EC server.
Press release and readable summary.
EUSEW2020 awards open for applicants
Every year the European Commission (Directorate-General for Energy and EASME) organises the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) – the biggest event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. The 2019 edition attracted more than 3200 participants. The theme of the 2020 edition will focus on Energy for the European Green Deal and cover a series of activities with an EU-wide scope. EUSEW will take place during the last week of June (22-26 June) and include the EUSEW Policy Conference in Brussels from 23 to 25 June.
Among the Week’s highlights are the #EUSEW2020 Awards. The competition to award the year’s top projects is open until 10 February 2020!
This year, the three Award categories are:
- Engagement: For activities that inspire and motivate citizens to make their energy habits more sustainable
- Innovation: For EU-funded activities that demonstrate the sustainable energy transition in original and innovative ways
- Youth: For activities carried out by people under 30
As you can see, the Innovation category is reserved for EU-funded projects. As a H2020 project coordinator, you could apply for an Award in this category. Nevertheless, feel free to apply in any category.
You can apply online until 10 February 2020. To access the application form, you must create a user on the EUSEW website beforehand.
BIOEAST project conference in Brussels on Feb 20/21th 2020
New Central and Eastern European sustainable energy project BIOEAST will have its two-days conference in Brussels on Feb 20 and 21th. Project is supporting achieving EU goals in bio-energy sectors of agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.
More info and registration via link https://bioeast.eu/events/bioeast-as-a-driving-force-in-the-context-of-the-european-green-deal/
Croatia has taken over the EU presidency
Starting the beginning of 2020, Croatia (member of European Union since 2013) has taken over the EU presidency. Zagreb is facing the main challenges in front of European Union today: global climate change, immigration from Middle East, economical inequity of member states, rise of national populism and UK separation. The widening of EU is put on hold by the old members, notably France who has blocked the negotiation process with North-Macedonia. At the same time, Croatia is facing their own problems with the troubled history of the Balkan region. Croatia is also suffering from the emigration to other EU countries. EU is supporting its newest member on taking the presidency and leadership for next 6 months and after that Croatia will forward the EU presidency to Germany in middle of 2020. The presidency will be back in CEE region when Slovenia will take the role from Portugal in mid 2021.
eDREAM - enabling new Demand Response Advanced Market oriented, Secure technoligies, Solutions & Business Models
eDREAM - Enabling New Tehnologies for Demand Response Descentralized Validation using Blockchain – H2020 project
eDREAM envisions to revolutionize the way the Demand Response market is currently operated based on traditional centralized processes.
eDREAM aims to the transformation of traditional market approaches and smart grid operations into novel decentralized and community-driven energy systems fully exploring local capacities, constraints, and Virtual Power Plants-oriented optimization in terms of local and secure grid nodes stabilization.
The needs of Aggregators, DSOs and prosumers (residential and C&I) for real-time secure transactions (peer-to-peer is also included) will be addressed through:
- Closed-loop DR environment with near real-time DR verification assessment mechanisms.
- Blockchain-enabled financial transactions based on near real-time distributed ledger ensuring secure data handling.
- Multi-scale and interactive visualization platform.
eDREAM KEY INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
- Optimal Modeling of VPPs Dynamic coalitions
- DR Potential Pre-assessment through Drone Aerial Surveys
- Prosumer Clustering and Segmentation Techniques
- Consumption/Production forecast Multi-level Interactive Visualization for optimal aggregation suport
- Decision-support System and Multi-Objective Optimization for DR optimal management
- Energy and Flexibility marketplaces, powered by Self-enforcing Smart Contracts
- Advanced Prosumer Forecasting Techniques.
Find out more about eDREAM project: www.edream-h2020.eu
DR BOB - Demand Response in Blocks of Buildings
The key functionality of the DR-BOB Demand Response energy management solution is based on the real-time optimisation of the local energy production, consumption and storage. The optimisation can be adjusted to maximise economic profit or to minimise CO2 emissions according to user requirements. The solution is and can adapt to fluctuations in the energy demand or production, subject to dynamic price tariffs and changing weather conditions.
The DR-BOB solution combines tools and technologies to provide an innovative scalable cloud based central management system with a, local real-time energy management that communicates with each building management and generation / storage solutions in blocks of buildings. The key technologies in the solution are
- A Demand Response Manager – Siemens DEMS®
- A Local Energy Manager (LEM) –Teesside University IDEAS project Product
- A Consumer Portal – GridPocket EcoTroks™
The DR-BOB solution provides control at different scales. From the control of multiple blocks of buildings to the control of the energy systems at the building level.
It utilises existing standards like IEC60870-5-104 and OpenADR. The architecture that enables new adaptors to be added to support new standards in the future. This allows access to most generation, storage and load assets.
The DR-BOB solution provides open connectivity to both SCADA/utility communications and customer side AMIs. It can optimise supply side and demand response between blocks of buildings and other infrastructures, with automatic distribution of results via Building Management Systems. This simplifies commercial customer or resident participation in demand response.
Find out more: www.dr-bob.eu
EFFECT4buildings webinar: Technological solutions for energy efficiency measures in buildings
To share knowledge and experiences of energy efficiency solutions among building managers in the Baltic Sea Region project "Effective Financing Tools for implementing Energy Efficiency in Buildings" (EFFECT4buildings) on May 7, 2019 organizes a webinar: Technological solutions for energy efficiency measures in buildings.
Energy efficient water taps, solar roofs, ceiling panels for efficient heating and cooling and energy efficient ventilation will be those solutions to ask your questions about.
Date: May 7, 2019, 9:00 – 11:00 (Swedish time)
Location: Skype for Business (Webinar will be recorded and available in www.effect4buildings.se)
Program:
| 9:00 Introduction to the webinar 9:10 Energy efficient water taps Frank Rälg, FM Mattsson, Sweden 9:20 Q & A9:30 Solar Roofs Helen Anijalg, Roofit Solar Energy, Estonia 9:40 Q & A
|
9:50 Ceiling panels for efficient heating and cooling Hannu Janhunen, Itula Oy, Finland10:00 Q & A10:10 Energy efficient ventilation Jonn Are Myhren, Healthy Homes, Sweden 10:20 Q & A End of webinar |
To join the webinar, please contact: baiba.norberte@vidzeme.lv
Background: EFECT4buildings project develop a toolbox with a set of financial instruments for building managers to implement more energy efficiency measures. The project also maps, promote and share experiences among building managers of different technology solutions for energy efficiency in buildings. EFFECT4buildings is implemented with the support from the EU funding Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region (European Regional Development Fund) and Norwegian national funding. For more information: http://www.effect4buildings.se Follow us on Twitter @EFFECT4building
The energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe: The business case for higher ambition
Market opportunities emerge as Central and Eastern Europe race to catch up with EU energy transition, finds new report
Regional energy context offers opportunities for companies and policymakers that are distinct from Western Europe, according to the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group.
BUCHAREST, March 21 – The necessary transition towards low-carbon energy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) opens up new investment opportunities in energy-saving design and technology in the region, a new report has found.
As the European Union develops its long-term strategy for achieving a low-carbon economy, a study by the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) highlights the business case opportunities and challenges within the CEE region.
The report, The energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe: The business case for higher ambition, identifies factors that have resulted in a slower pace of transition in some areas across the region, while
highlighting the significant untapped potential areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility.
“While CEE countries are the newest members of the EU, they can and should still be part of Europe’s climate leadership, because this can mean new jobs and economic opportunities, whilst providing people with the clean air, better energy security and more comfortable homes they deserve,” said Eliot Whittington, director of the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group. “Despite vast potential in the region, CEE Member States lag behind their EU neighbours on renewable energy and sustainable transport, and they also have much to gain from improving their housing stock. This represents significant opportunities to catch up by adopting the most recent, innovative and cost-effective technologies. And by seizing these opportunities, CEE countries will be able to deliver better public
health, improved quality of life and economic prosperity.”
The report highlights the opportunity for large-scale energy efficiency improvements in buildings across the CEE region, particularly where Soviet-era multi-unit buildings are prevalent.
In seven out of eleven CEE countries, buildings account for a higher proportion of total energy use than the European average, with the sector using as much as 50 per cent of national energy use in Estonia, Hungary and Latvia.
Energy efficiency improvements in these countries offer proportionately greater benefits than elsewhere in Europe as well as opportunities for investment and innovation, with one in four Hungarian households planning energy efficiency refurbishments worth around €4 billion in the next five years. However, some of the challenges included inconsistent planning regulations and technical standards as well as high levels of private ownership.
“More efficient lighting, including switching to LEDs, can bring huge savings in energy use as well as improving the living and working environment for residents,” said Bogdan Ślęk, Public & Government Affairs Director CEE at Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), which oversaw the installation of a new lighting system in the Spark office complex in Warsaw.
“We see a huge, latent market demand for improvement in lighting services in CEE countries, not only regarding the energy saved but also in terms of creating a better quality working environment.”
The report also cites the high potential for generating renewable energy in CEE to help the region meet the EU’s 2030 energy target of at least a third of energy coming from renewable sources.
In Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, the potential solar power per unit area is approximately 1.5 times greater than that in Germany or the UK, while Hungary has made moves towards developing its geothermal power and heating resources. This offers the opportunity for investment into CEE’s ageing infrastructure to unlock growth in renewable energy and help overcome public resistance to alternative energy and reliance on fossil fuels.
Finally, the extensive, socialist-era public transport network across many CEE countries also offers the foundation for a yet more efficient service with more investment, better economic growth and phase-out of
high polluting, older vehicles. Recent innovations in this area include electronic ticketing, which was introduced in Tallinn in 2004. Despite limited uptake so far due to economic factors, there is also a strong interest in expanding electric mobility, with emerging e-mobility programmes in Poland and Hungary. “Smart mobility business models and technologies are changing transport – and our lives - across Europe,”
said Bálint Michaletzky, Managing Director, GreenGo Car Europe, Hungary. “We have the opportunity in CEE countries to leapfrog the trend of private car ownership straight to more sustainable ways of travelling around our cities and countries.”
The report sets out recommendations for both businesses and governments, based on research showing opportunities for new financial products and services that reduce the cost barrier for consumers, and new technological solutions tailored to the region. Beyond this, businesses leading by example through decarbonising their own operations in the region can trigger broader deployment of renewables and climate ambition locally.
The report authors call on governments to outline long-term climate plans necessary to provide the stable regulatory environment that can attract commitment from investors and finance infrastructure improvements that can support private sector innovation.
Link to the report: https://www.corporateleadersgroup.com/reports-evidence-and-insights/publications/publications-pdfs/cee-energy-transition-report.pdf
Effective Financing Tools for implementing Energy Efficiency in Buildings Newsletter #2 Technologies
Main focus for the 2nd EFFECT4buildings newsletter is Technologies.
Energy Transition Public Feedback lasts until 4 March 2019!
The online Public Feedback of the Energy Transition Partnership will last until 4 March 2019. This would be a unique opportunity for the public to contribute to the five draft actions from the Draft Action Plan.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/energy-transition/energy-transition-public-feedback-starts-today-and-lasts-until-4-march-2019
The Partnership formalised five actions, namely:
- Draft Action 1: CREATION OF ‘FINANCING FOR DISTRICT ENERGY’ TASK GROUP
- Draft Action 2: MAXIMISING USE OF WASTE HEAT IN CITIES
- Draft Action 3: GUIDANCE ON ENERGY MASTER-PLANNING FOR CITIES
- Draft Action 4: ‘DEPLOYMENT DESKS’ FOR CITY RETROFITTING
- Draft Action 5: CLOSER CO-OPERATION WITH EU BODIES TO PROMOTE ENERGY TRANSITION FUNDING
To read all draft actions in full detail, please consult the draft Action Plan.
Have your say on the Energy Transition actions and join the Public Feedback until 4 March 2019!
IMPORTANT: Join the Public Feedback by choosing one of the actions above or via the "Introduction to the Draft Action Plan" article.
In the Action Plan section (the top menu of this page), you will find five draft action descriptions available in English. These articles contain buttons to allow you to give your feedback. You can give feedback on one or more actions, preferably in English, but other languages are also welcome.
Final CEESEN workshop with Czech Biogas Association
As PANEL 2050 is approaching its end by the end of February Czech partner AgEnDa joined forces with one of the main Roadmapping partner Czech Biogas Association and arranged last stakeholder meeting in Prague on Monday 18th.
The main objective of this event was to present and discuss elaborated Action Plans related to the topic of biogas and biomethane utilization. Followed up by series of presentations including representatives of Ministry of Trade (topic of National Energy and Climate Plan of the Czech Republic), Association of District Heating and Ministry of Environment (topic of emission limits). Major attention was payed to the pilot project of biomethane utilization in Brno by mr. Novotný (RENARDS).
Technology center of the Czech Republic presented actual funding opportunities within H2020 and the day was wrapped up by Mr. Štambaský, president of the European Biogas Association who introduced the actual status of biogas production and utilization in Europe.
Event was attended by more than 60 stakeholders and was held at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague.
Partnerships for Energy Leadership Boost Energy Transition in CEESEN Tartu 2019 conference
Partnerships for Energy Leadership Boost Energy Transition
Tartu, Estonia 29.01.2019: About 150 members of the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network met in Tartu, Estonia and build up on joint efforts.
University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Estonia were the scene for the sustainable energy conference ‘Partnership for New Energy Leadership’ last week. The main focus was how the local communities in Central and Eastern Europe could push for energy-conscious low-carbon future. Together with speakers from the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors, Estonian Government, as well as the individual regions, leaders, professionals and activists dedicated to energy transition were brought together.
The energy sector in CEE is developing rapidly, but while financial and institutional aspects are moving forward, social development is inadequate. While pressed with climate change threats and policy demands, CEE countries still have significant energy intensive economies to transform together with social challenges. Tackling energy poverty is one of the key actions to reach social sustainability grounds enabling more ambitious and technologically sound energy transition.
Shortcomings in favoring institutional sustainability over social sustainability was a subject of the conference speeches and discussions. Top-down planning and highly regulated administrative system reject citizen’s actions and non-formal activities. The latter were found crucial in strategic planning processes, which need to be opened more to stakeholders and require stronger bottom-up approach to actually meet the local needs. The model of the PANEL 2050 project was confirmed essential for these processes to succeed – local forerunners capacity building provision, finding and nurturing the startups of sustainability in every region, establishing a long-term vision and roadmap, all this shared by the community. Explicit guidelines for these are provided free online through ceesen.org – the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network website. The availability of technical and methodological support by the Covenant of Mayors was also confirmed for ambitious and sustainably dedicated cities.
Local stakeholders participating in the event were particularly concerned on how to secure funding for planned energy actions. Important guidance was received foreseeing upcoming Horizon 2020 funding and the future of the program – market uptake is planned to move under LIFE program with lower supporting rate. It is up to CEESEN members and other interested stakeholders to advocate for 100% support rate among European Parliament representatives.
Conference participants also discussed expanding the CEESEN network, digital solutions for promoting sustainable energy as well as smart cities planning.
Conference presentations and videos are available at https: http://ceesen.emu.ee
EBRD launches energy efficiency programme for Macedonian homes
EBRD launches energy efficiency programme for Macedonian homes
EBRD launches energy efficiency programme for households in FYR Macedonia
Ohridska Banka Société Générale and Sparkasse Bank Makedonija to become first local partners
Programme will support investments in private homes to improve energy performance and generate savings.
The EBRD is launching a Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in FYR Macedonia that will provide loans to households for energy efficiency improvements in their homes.
Ohridska Banka Société Générale and Sparkasse Bank Makedonija have signed up as the first two local partner financial institutions, with credit lines of €2 million each for on-lending to homeowners. An additional €4 million in financing is about to be committed with other local banks. These investments will help households to become more energy efficient, decrease their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their living standards. The GEFF programme for FYR Macedonia is part of the €85 million framework for the Western Balkans.
A launch event in Skopje today brought together GEFF stakeholders, including Nicola Bertolini, Head of Cooperation section, EU Delegation in FYR Macedonia, Kocho Angjusev, Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Economic Affairs, Kreshnik Bekteshi, Minister of Economy, Violeta Kogalniceanu, Head of Infrastructure and Energy Efficiency Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, donors, local state officials, local partner financial institutions, suppliers and producers of green technologies for the residential sector.
Macedonian residents will be able to take out loans from these partner financial institutions for green technology solutions, such as new double-glazed windows, high-efficiency boilers or thermal insulation for their homes.
Families investing in energy efficient technologies will be eligible to apply for an EU grant of up to 20 per cent of their investment. Vendors and producers of energy efficient solutions for the residential sector can also access financing under the GEFF programme. In addition, the programme will provide technical assistance, including energy audits for the renovation of apartment buildings.
GEFF in FYR Macedonia is implemented under the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme for the Western Balkans (REEP Plus), funded by the EU and implemented in partnership with the Energy Community Secretariat. The programme also supports the development of the country’s Energy Efficiency Law in compliance with the European Directives on energy efficiency and performance in buildings. In total, the REEP Plus programme will benefit from €135 million for investments in the residential sector, supported by €30 million in EU funding and €1.8 million from the European Western Balkans Joint Fund, as well as €3.3 million provided by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance.
CEESEN 2019 Conference in Tartu, Jan 23-24th
Emerging Partnership for Energy Leadership
Over 150 committed members of the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network will convene in Tartu, Estonia to tackle climate change
The sustainable energy conference ‘Partnership for New Energy Leadership’ will be held on 23 – 25 January 2019 in Tartu, Estonia, hosted by University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences. The event will focus on building an energy-conscious low-carbon future in Central and Eastern Europe bringing together leaders, professionals and activists dedicated to energy transition. This includes key speakers from the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors, Estonian Government, as well as the individual regions will share good practices, lessons learnt and future missions.
Nowadays climate change is one of the most serious threats to humanity. In response to this, EU governments are pressed to create policy frameworks that enable sustainable long-term transformation of the energy sector. Reduction of economy’s energy intensity, especially in CEE countries that have lagged behind, requires effort by all sectors of society, from government, to private companies and individual citizens. Thus, for the EU reach its ambitious goals, stakeholder engagement must be improved. This includes strengthening public participation processes and bottom-up movement in policy development, which would enable local communities to cooperate with policy makers to make change happen.
An important actor in this process is the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN), which has brought together more than 2400 members who are actively working to achieve these goals. CEESEN provides a useful model that communities can follow to develop long term visons with clear roadmaps and focused action plans for implementation. The conference is also the final project meeting of the EU-funded Partnership for New Energy Leadership PANEL 2050 project. PANEL has developed tools that can be used to promote sustainable energy development in the CEE region.
Conference participants will discuss expanding the CEESEN network, digital solutions for promoting sustainable energy as well as social aspects of energy transition including energy poverty in CEE. Participants will have the chance to exchange ideas on their shared interests and assess upcoming funding opportunities like the Interreg, Erasmus and Horizon 2020 which can be used to support actions for shifting towards a low-carbon economy.
What is CEESEN?
The Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN) was established under the Partnership for New Energy Leadership PANEL 2050 project (grant nr 696173). Laying the foundations for energy transformation of Central and East European economies and transforming them into low-carbon ones by the middle of the century is a main goal. CEESEN network now supports local communities in 11 countries from Estonia to Macedonia to meet global and European decarbonisation targets by 2050. CEESEN network helps to engage stakeholders more actively in the process of energy transformation while targeting groups with specific trainings and organizing meetings and exchanges between regions.
Carbon Neutral Social housing: European and Regional Challenges post-2020
The Mid-term seminar of Social Green project will be organised next 26th March in Porto and the Social Green project meeting will take place on 27th March in Matosinhos (Portugal).
You will hear insights from European Commission - DG ENERGY, Paula Rey Garcia and Housing Europe secretary general Sorcha Edwards about the next step towards carbon neutral social housing.
Mark the event in your agenda and stay tuned for more information!
European Parliament approval of funding for Ignalina NPP decommissioning demonstrates political strength and is of strategic importance
At the plenary session on 17 January, the European Parliament (EP) approved the report on the draft Ignalina programme regulation, in which funding of EUR 780 million, the exact amount requested by Lithuania, is proposed to be allocated for the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in the EU multiannual financial framework.
Today, the EP approved the proposal of Rebecca Harms, the EP rapporteur on the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) decommissioning funding issues, to maintain the existing level of EU financing – the EU contributes 86 per cent of the value of the projects of the Ignalina NPP decommissioning, while the remaining part is funded by Lithuania.
“The support of the European Parliament, which is strategically important, shows that Europe acknowledges the progress made by us in the process of the Ignalina NPP decommissioning. It is a significant and strong political message – the decommissioning of the Ignalina NPP is a common issue and responsibility of Lithuania as well as the whole Europe. It is the case now and must continue to be in the future,” said the Minister of Energy Vaičiūnas.
The EP also approved the proposal of Ms. Harms on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel, highlighting that this issue should not be dealt with by Lithuania alone. The EU should contribute to the solution of the issue of a deep geological repository for long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste of the Ignalina NPP.
Therefore, the report contains an opinion about the necessity to initiate consultations on including the issue of funding of the final management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from the Ignalina programme in the future multiannual financial frameworks of the EU.
The final decision on the Ignalina programme regulation for the next multiannual financial framework will be adopted by the EU Council. The EP opinion is of advisory nature.
Lithuania will actively continue negotiations with the Member States to secure necessary financial assistance for the uninterrupted continuation of the planned decommissioning of the Ignalina NPP in 2021-2027 and will seek to establish favourable conditions of such financing.
The Ignalina NPP decommissioning works are progressing smoothly, installation of the radioactive waste management infrastructure is coming to an end – six out of nine objects have been installed and are in operation. Nearly half of containers (88 of 190) with spent nuclear fuel have been moved to the temporary repository. Over 30 per cent of equipment has been dismantled until now. Preparations for most important and technologically complicated works – dismantling of two reactors that are most powerful in the world – have already been launched.
Applications for #EUSEW19 are still open!
Applications for #EUSEW19 are still open! You have until 28 January 2019 to submit your application to host a session at the Policy Conference. And, you can apply for the EU Sustainable Energy Awards until 4 February 2019.Take the lead in shaping Europe’s energy future by hosting a session at the Policy Conference. The conference will provide you with a unique opportunity to present and discuss latest policy advancements and solutions for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. Read the guidelines and apply now.
Macedonian day-ahead market launch scheduled for the end of November 2019
Macedonian day-ahead market launch scheduled for the end of November 2019
The launch of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s day-ahead market (DAM) is scheduled for the end of November 2019, while the go-live of Bulgaria and Macedonia (BG-MK) market coupling will follow in January 2020, the Energy Community Secretariat said in its latest Western Balkans 6 (WB6) Electricity Monitoring Report.
WB6 parties failed to finalize activities in line with the deadlines and commitments, such as unbundling of system operators, independence of the national regulatory authorities and the implementation of the Trans-European Network Regulation, the Secretariat said in a press release.
In addition, the regulation of supply prices for households and small customers was prolonged in a majority of the WB6 parties. According to the Secretariat, this trend is detrimental to the development of competition in the market, because regulated prices are under the market level.
Spot Market Development: roadmap for Bulgaria-Macedonia market coupling in November 2018
In the reporting period, compared to the last report published in June, the only tangible progress was made in FYROM, where the electricity market operator (MEMO) was spun out of the transmission system operator in line with the Energy Law, the report reads.
A detailed roadmap for the Bulgaria-Macedonia market coupling was adopted and a non-disclosure agreement is expected to be signed by the end of November 2018, the report concludes, adding that the map also defines the launch of the Macedonian DAM and the go-live of the Bulgaria-Macedonia market coupling.
Activities on setting up companies responsible for the operation of the day-ahead markets have been delayed in Albania and Montenegro. A decision on the establishment and ownership structure of the operator of the Albanian power exchange (APEX) is expected to be finalized in November 2018, as well as a request for offers for strategic partnership by the Montenegrin BELEN.
Regional Capacity Allocation: agreement between KOSTT, ENTSO-E moves forward
Progress towards the entry into force of the Connection Agreement between KOSTT and ENTSO-E was noted in the reporting period. Elektrosever, a subsidiary of Serbia’s power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), was registered as the power supply company in the Kosovo Business Registration Agency in November 2018. Licensing of this company is a precondition for the entry into force of the Connection Agreement.
Albania signed an agreement with the Security Coordination Center, which is now providing services to the transmission system operators from all WB6, with the exception of Kosovo*, which has not yet decided on using the services of any of the existing regional security coordinators.
Cross-cutting measures: regulation of household prices prolonged
The reporting period was marked by delay in the regulation of supply prices for households and small customers in most of the WB6 parties, the report finds.
In addition to the already postponed price deregulation for medium voltage customers by April 2019, the regulator of Kosovo* postponed the deregulation of prices for 10 kV by April 2020 by its decision of October 2018.
A tender for the supplier of last resort was not yet published in Montenegro, while in Serbia, the regulator proposed continuing regulation of prices for guaranteed supply in its September 2018 report on the need for further regulation of these prices.
Furthermore, a right of all customers to change their supplier is still withheld in Albania and Macedonia, where it is expected to be phased out as of 2019.
Cross-border balancing: Macedonia prepares new balancing rules
According to the report, Macedonia, which is the only WB6 party where regulated companies are effectively still exempted from balance responsibility, is finalizing the process of adoption of new balancing rules.
Except in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 4 big production companies are competing in the balancing market, the provision of balancing services is essentially limited to one single balancing service provider, namely the incumbent producer.
This was used as a justification for the Serbian regulator to propose continuing with the regulation of balancing reserve prices in its new report, justifying the need for further regulation of these prices.
Shaping Europe's Energy Future: EUSEW 2019
Every year the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises organise the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) – the biggest event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. The theme for 2019 is “Shaping Europe’s energy future” and it will cover a series of activities with an EU-wide scope in May and June.
Estonia joins declaration of climate friendly forest management
Source: http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies/?doc=145924
States endorsing the document confirm that forest management plays an important role in attaining the objectives of the Paris Agreement, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of the Environment said.
"As Estonia is rich in woodland, adopting the declaration is of great importance to us. We have stepped into a new era when it comes to decreasing the impact of climate change and adapting to it, and forests have a significant role in it," Minister of the Environment Siim Kiisler was quoted in a press release as saying.
"Forests are the main carbon sinks. Thus we cannot overlook forests' vulnerability to climate changes. Climate policy must ensure that carbon dioxide emissions are reduced and that forests' maximum resilience to the impact of climate change is guaranteed," Kiisler said.
The declaration focuses on comprehensive and sustainable management of forests.
"Estonia is at the forefront of the European Union when it comes to the share of strictly protected forests. Our woodlands are managed sustainably, maintaining their viability, biodiversity and the stability thereof," Kiisler said, adding that when it comes to forest management, Estonia's principle is that the woodlands should provide economic, social, environmental as well as cultural benefits both to generations of today as well as to those of the future. "When we follow those principles, UN positions on sustainable management of forests are supported, too," he said.
The Ministerial Declaration on Forests for the Climate was initiated by Poland, the organizer of the climate conference. The political declaration focuses on the role of forests in mitigating climate change and adapting to it on a global scale.
As forests have a decisive role to play in the sequestration and storage of carbon, the destruction and deterioration of forests must be decreased in the world. Forests' capacity as carbon sinks and their aptitude for adapting to climate change needs to be improved by means of sustainable forest management. Forests' role as an important agent in other areas must be taken into consideration as well, it is said in the declaration.
Source: http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies/?doc=145924
CEESEN supports the COP 24 in Poland
Eastern Europe with new model of energy efficiency in the time of biggest
climate challenge
Tartu, 12.2018. While the world leaders face a COP24 in Katovitse, Poland, CEESEN offers low carbon roadmap for sustainable future. This newly emerging CEE joint force is made to tackle climate change.
Over the past two weeks, the Polish city of Katowice has hosted the most prominent annual climate summit - COP24. The highest level of 200 countries representatives participate in the discussions going on with contentious success. And while negotiations between world political leaders are lurking, the non-government sector, regions, energy agencies and businesses are working to tackle climate change.
Energy efficiency is one of the key issues for Eastern European countries. They consume between two and four times more energy per unit of GDP, which makes them less competitive than other European countries. The results of COP24 so far reaffirm the need for energy transformation and decarbonisation worldwide for the countries to deal with one of the greatest challenges facing us - climate change. A key role in this activity is played by the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN).
What is CEESEN?
The Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN) was established under the PANEL 2050 project, supported by European Union. Laying the foundations for energy transformation of East European economies and transforming them into low-carbon ones by the middle of the century is a main goal. CEESEN network now supports local communities in 11 countries from Estonia to Macedonia to meet global and European decarbonisation targets by 2050. This happens in several ways: Actions for energy sustainability and local economy transformation are planned within municipalities after an elaborate visioning and strategic planning. CEESEN network helps to engage stakeholders more actively in the process of energy transformation while targeting groups with specific trainings. Networking is secured with meetings and exchange between regions. Among the network leaders are identified with their capacity to achieve the desirable energy and economic change.
As one of the missions of the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN) decarbonisation is a long-term action that needs to be started as emergency.
CEESEN in action
The year of 2018 is particularly intense for CEESEN. What are truly remarkable results of the joint efforts are the numbers of people engaged that were enabled to undergo regional strategic planning processes aimed at long-term visioning for low carbon local economies. A large amount of local information was analyzed to identify specific short-term and long-term measures for each target region as part of their strategies and action plans. More than 1300 stakeholders took part in 43 training sessions, setting the foundations for 10 visions, 10 strategies and 100 action plans in Central and Eastern European regions. The whole process is available online with easy access to training materials and local examples for more interested parties to benefit. Anyone, business, political or local actor, can get easy access to the right desirable partners among Central and Eastern Europe most climate action engaged regions.
What's ahead?
"A Partnership for New Energy Leadership" is a forthcoming conference to be held from 23 to 25 January 2019 in Tartu, Estonia by Estonian University of Life Sciences. The event will focus on building an energy-conscious low-carbon future in Central and Eastern Europe with key speakers from the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors, as well as the individual regions. The registration to conference has already begun. Together with the conference the Energy Info day will be held by the European Commission on January 25th focusing on the Horizon 2020 funding options connected to the conference topic.
Need for urgent action
The conference will be held three months after the publication of "Living Planet" by the global environmental guardian WWF. The report identified atmospheric pollution, a result of mining and heavy industry, as one of the planet's biggest threats. The document shows that for the last half-century Earth's average temperatures have risen 1.2 degrees above the pre-industrial era.
Preserving this trend could have devastating consequences for a number of countries and more sensitive ecosystems, as well as lead to the loss of natural habitats, the acceleration of ice melting and rising sea levels, experts are warning. This will undoubtedly have a significant impact on our health, livelihood, security and economic growth. These finding are in line with the most recent UN climate report, warning us from exceeding 1.5 degrees temperature level and demanding for urgent action.
In this regard, the European Commission adopted a long-term strategic vision, which aims to make the EU economy climate-neutral by 2050. CEESEN recalls that climate change is not just a burden but a chance to redesign the energy sector for more competitive tomorrow.
Latvian city invests in solar district heating
Source: http://arcon-sunmark.com/newsandmedia/latvian-city-invests-in-solar-district-heating
The first solar district heating system in Latvia is being developed in Salaspils. The solar district heating system has a collector field with a total of 1.720 collectors or 21.672 m2. The installation will be the biggest large-scale solar district heating system in Europe – if you do not take Danish installations into account. 12.000 MWh heat will be produced annually and when completed in the second half of 2019 it will cover 20% of the heating demand in Salaspils.
“We have been working on this project since attending a district heating conference in
Denmark in 2014. The objective is to reduce our CO2 footprint and become more
independent of fossil fuels. Solar heating enables us to produce sustainable energy at low
fixed price for at least the next 25 years,” says Ina Berzina-Veita, Member of the Board,
Salaspils Siltums.
Danish large-scale solar heating specialist Arcon-Sunmark – who has developed large-scale solar heating projects on four continents – applauds the project in Salaspils. In Europe, interest in renewable energy in general and solar heating in particular is currently very strong. The main upsides with large-scale solar heating are that it is efficient, clean and price competitive with traditional energy sources.
“Large-scale solar heating is a proven technology that has been used in 30 years and improved
steadily over the years. The project in Salaspils is an important milestone for solar heating in
Europe as it demonstrates the versatility and adaptability of the technology by introducing it
to Latvia for the first time,” says Ole Dalby, CEO, Arcon-Sunmark.
The solar heating system is part of a major update of the district heating facilities in Salaspils. At this moment the main heating source is a 7 MW wood chip boiler. As a part of this project additionally will be installed 3 MW wood chip boiler so produced heat from wood chips will be upgraded to 10 MW. Upgrades to the control systems for the district heating in Salaspils as well as a storage tank are also a part of the project.
“We have a lot of experience working with sustainable energy solutions that benefit both
community and environment. The project in Salaspils is very inspirational and is a model
example for others to follow,” says Agris Šipkovs, Director, Filter SIA.
Filter SIA and Arcon-Sunmark are currently looking into more opportunities for collaboration in the Baltic Region.
For more information
Contact: Ole Dalby, CEO, Arcon-Sunmark A/S, mobile tel. +45 23 26 14 60
Energy Efficiency Finance Market Place on 19-20 Feb 2019 in Brussels
Covenant of Mayors Investment Forum - Energy Efficiency Finance Market Place, which will take place on 19 February (13:00 to 18:30) and 20 February (09:00 to 16:30) in Brussels.
The conference will include plenary sessions with high-level representatives from Covenant of Mayors initiative, the investment community, and the European Commission, a showcase of successful projects on:
- Innovative financing solutions;
- Financing climate adaptation;
- Financing urban mobility;
- Financing Energy Efficiency in the public sector;
- Financing Home renovation;
- Innovative sustainable energy planning.
The conference will bring together cities, industry and financial institutions to exchange on good practices and successful solutions to common challenges. Please save the date in your agenda, if you are interested.
WIN 2018 ▫ Second International Conference Women In Energy 2018 ▫
WIN 2018 ▫ Second International Conference Women In Energy 2018 ▫
About the Conference
WIN 2018 ▫ Second International Conference Women In Energy 2018 ▫ Initiative to promote gender balance is organized taking into consideration the recommendations of around 140 participants from the previous WIN 2017 Conference: Initiative to promote greater participation and involvement of women in the energy sector, and broadened the scope and topics for empowering women’s participation in the energy sector.
The main goal of WIN 2018 Conference is to raise awareness about the importance of gender balance in business and economy, identifying strategies and programs for strengthening the success through advancing gender equality. The WIN 2018 Conference serves as a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences of the leaders and professionals from the business and academia in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and accelerating the personal growth opportunities for the female employees.
Mr Peter is Chairman of Management Board of EVN Macedonia, which is part of the Austrian EVN Group. He holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and the Carlson School of Minnesota, USA. He has over 15 years of experience in the Energy filed, and over 10 years of experience in the region. In addition, he is the President of the Foreign Investors Council, President of the Macedonian Energy Association in the Employers Organisation and serves as a board member of several Chambers of Commerce on state level.
Target audience
Professionals working in the Energy Industry
Academia
Experts
Business community
International and regional organizations’ representatives
Public and Governmental representatives
Non-governmental professional organizations’ representatives
Horizon 2020 ENERGY EFFICIENCY INFO DAY
REGISTRATION
Registrations are now open until 18 January 2019 or whenever the maximum number of the participants has been reached.
We will not be able to accept additional registrations once the event is full even if this occurs before the registration deadline.
Organisers aim to keep, to the best level possible, equilibrium between applicants from different countries and organisations by screening registration requests before accepting them.
You are kindly requested to limit participation to maximum two people per organisation. Please note that if you don’t collect your badge by 14:30 on the day of the conference your seat may be given to another participant.
Organisers reserve the right to refuse registrations if there are too many participants from the same organisation/institution. Priority will be given to those who register early.
Only one e-mail address per participant can be registered in the system. You are free to choose the sessions you are interested in and design your own programme.
MATCHMAKING
From 30 November onwards, you will have the option to schedule bilateral meetings and present your interests in certain topics, your expertise on specific matters and/or your project ideas to possible project partners.
A matchmaking event is a quick and easy way to meet potential cooperation partners to judge a possible future collaboration. People meet and greet at high speed. A few minutes are usually enough to build connections, then the bell rings and the next meeting starts.
More information: https://h2020-sc3-info-day.b2match.io/
Brussels presents a vision of a non-CO2 economy
The European Commission has presented a long-term vision for reaching zero net emissions in 2050. The European Union is to be "climate neutral" - with minimal emissions that threaten the climate and technologies that capture carbon dioxide. Transformation is to proceed in a cost-effective way and be socially just. It is not only about giving up coal, but also about saving energy, replacing oil and gas, passive housing, changing consumption habits.
As indicated in the document 'Clean Planet for All - European long-term strategic vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy', current economic policy does not give a chance for climate neutrality in the middle of the century. The 2030 targets for green energy (32%) and energy efficiency (32.5%) determined by the EU should lead in practice to a reduction of 45% in CO2 emissions. (although the EU target is 40%). In the long run it is not enough.
The most important points: First - by 2050, the European energy system is to be decarbonised. Already, more than half of electricity in the EU is zero-emission. In the middle of the century, 80 percent. electricity will come from renewable sources, will be supported by nuclear power plants (about 15 per cent). At the same time, the share of electricity in consumption will at least double, as sectors such as housing or transport will be electrified.
Secondly, great emphasis was placed on energy efficiency. The construction and services sector now corresponds to around 40 percent. energy consumption in the EU. By 2050, the savings should be half.
Transport, accounting for a quarter of EU CO2 emissions, according to the strategy is to switch to electricity, hydrogen, and synthetic fuels. This will require the development of a railway network and a much more efficient, organization-based, transport system organization based on digitization. However, it will be the most difficult to change the behavior of travelers.
Source:https://wysokienapiecie.pl/15086-dlugoterminowa-strtategia-klimatyczna-ue/