Area 21 set out to achieve energy efficiencies in buildings in the six partner countries with the use of energy improvement districts (EIDs). By involving citizens and other concerned parties, and bringing energy planning to district level, the project departed from the approach of energy planning being carried out mainly at EU and national level. The collaborative, bottom-up model developed by the project can be replicated throughout the Baltic Sea Region.
- 16 December 2021
AREA 21 has proven that working on the ground and across sectors can unlock unused energy efficiency potential, often hidden behind numerous knowledge and technical barriers.
Seven pilot EID projects in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Russia identified 134 energy-saving actions. A total of 176 individuals and entities, including homeowners, public property owners, energy utilities, students, academics, and hospital staff were involved.
After the project’s end in September 2020, implementation of the four most promising EIDs began, partially with the help of EU follow-up funding. These are the EIDs at the St Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia; Härmälä residential district in Tampere, Finland; Helsingborg Hospital Area, Sweden; and the Järve district in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia.
Political support
The building sector is responsible for 40 % of the EU’s energy consumption and 75 % of its building stock is considered energy inefficient. Renovations alone could reduce energy consumption by up to 6 %.
To help achieve this, EIDs encourage the involvement in energy planning of a wide range of interest parties, especially the people directly affected by any work done.
An important aspect of the project was getting the backing of decision-makers and politicians. To ensure sustainability and gain political support, EIDs were aligned with EU, national, regional and municipal energy planning and urban development strategies.
Transferrable actions
Once the EIDs had been established, energy-saving targets, to be included in future policies, were defined. Meetings, workshops and awareness-raising activities were organised.
The project results were published and presented in three webinars at the end of the project. A total of 107 participants from 21 EU countries, including 31 policy-makers and 16 regional and national energy agencies, took part in these.
A total of 134 actions and sub-activities were documented, making the project transferrable to other countries in the region.
In Russia, findings by the St Petersburg EID were integrated into students’ curricula and in a master’s programme in energy management at St Petersburg Polytechnic University.
One of the lessons learnt is that an EDI coordinator, or district manager, is needed to take charge of a district’s energy-saving initiatives. In the Helsingborg EID, Sweden, the city is already financing this role without project support.
Future collaborations
Area 21 has been cooperating with the cross-border STRING network and the Union of the Baltic Cities, which promote sustainable urban solutions to improve quality of life in the Baltic Sea Region.
The new EID concept could become a promising instrument of the EU strategy Renovation Wave for Europe – Greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives. This aims to double the rate at which buildings are renovated in the next 10 years.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Baltic Smart City Areas for the 21st Century (Area 21)” is EUR 1 990 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 890 000 through the “Baltic Sea Interreg” Cooperation Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.