Local Experiences

Local experience is a particularly important source of knowledge in the support of EU activities in sustainable communities. This section provides valuable information for all local and regional actors by highlighting good practice in the form of reports and video recordings.

Case studies on activities in cities and regions

Fossil Fuel Free Kristianstad - Sweden

Kristianstad municipality, Sweden, is working on becoming fossil fuel free. The different projects within this work are funded by municipal means and state grants. In 1999 the executive committee of Kristianstad Municipality unanimously decided to declare its intention to become a Fossil Fuel Free Municipality. The reduction of fossil fuels was to be achieved primarily by the use of bio-fuels, both biomass as fuel for heating and production of electricity and biogas as fuel for local buses and other vehicles. Other activities are efforts in the field of energy efficiency and changes in behaviour patterns. Community planning is an important instrument to promote a Fossil Fuel Free Municipality. The target audience is all sectors of the society, for example companies, households, children etc. The yearly CO₂-emissons have been reduced by 123 000 tonnes. One conclusion that can be drawn is that it is easier to reduce emissions from the heating sector than from transport. We recommend that other municipalities work with both energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

Read the complete good practice Case Study  on Fossil fuel free Kristianstad

Hadyard Hill Community Energy Project – Scotland, United Kingdom

The Hadyard Hill Community Energy Project was established to reduce energy demand, decrease fuel poverty and obtain maximum community benefits. £300,000 was provided from an Energy Efficiency Fund created by Scottish and Southern Energy in connection with the Wind Farm. The delivery of the project was led by the Energy Agency in partnership with South Ayrshire Council on behalf of Scottish and Southern Energy.

828 rural properties were initially targeted and included private, rented, council, Housing Association and small businesses. Doorstep surveys were conducted to gather data and determine appropriate insulation. An ecological / carbon footprint analysis of each household was also calculated. Referrals were made for benefit checks where required. 90% of the community actively took part in the project with 63% of surveyed households benefiting from free insulation measures. The project has brought a total of £250,000 per annum of additional
disposable income to the community. Carbon Dioxide emissions from the community will reduce by over 744 tonnes each year as a result of the project.

The success of this project has led the Energy Agency to replicate the project to other areas in Scotland and actively seeks funding to continue.

Read the complete good practice Case Study on the Hadyard  Hill Community

Intelligent Energy - Europe Videos

A number of videos are available on the Intelligent Energy - Europe (IEE) website

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