Case Study (183 Kb PDF)

Summary

EOS (Energy saving Ostend) was formed by the city of Ostend in order to lower energy cost for its inhabitants by decreasing the usage of energy. This kind of entity formed by a city council is unique in Belgium and, therefore, represents a pilot project. In addition to its work at the residential level, Ostend is also moving further towards becoming a centre of clean energy on a business level. Not only are private companies investing in renewable energy projects, but research is also available with the presence of the Greenbridge Science Park and the energy knowledge platform of Ghent University, Power-Link. All these initiatives led to an improvement in energy efficiency and effectiveness, as well as new developments in the clean-tech sector. Organisation and coordination form an important part, although this was achieved with the presence of local central contacts such as EOS and Power-Link. The 'triple helix' of academic-industry-government cooperation was a key component.

Results

From 2007 till the end of 2009 more than 1465 energy scans were completed. Calculations have proven that the total savings from these scans equal 6,751,040 kWh/year, which means the reduction of 2,351,325 kg CO₂ emission/year. This results in an overall saving of € 597 000 /year.

In the last two years (2008 and 2009) about 591 free energy loans have been granted for a total amount of €3,380,612, resulting in a energy saving of 3,105,357 kWh, 470,352 kg CO₂-emissions and €179,072 every year. In the mean time, the demand for energy loans keeps increasing every year.

Indirectly these actions contribute to employment in the area. Every million euro invested in the renovation sector means 24 new jobs are created. In Ostend 4 million will be invested, which means about 100 new jobs.

On a business level there are many energy production and research projects currently underway in the Ostend region and in the CO₂-neutral Greenbridge Science Park. At the same time, a number of different research projects have been started by the energy knowledge platform Power-Link.

• Implementation of innovative sustainable energy sources and their interaction with the distribution net, IWT TETRA, 01/10/07 - 30/09/09;
• Recycling of residual heat via an organic Rankine Cycle in applications of renewable energy, IWT TETRA, 01/10/07 - 30/09/09;
• Mie Energy, EWI, 01/03/08 - 31/12/10;
• Feasibility study of a low cost photo bioreactor for the culture of microalgae, IWT O&O, 01/01/08 - 31/12/09;
• Lipid-based, high value products and renewable energy from microalgae, IWT SBO, 01/02/09 -31/01/13;
• Hydrogen Region Flanders - South-Netherlands, EFRO Interreg IV, 01/06/09 - 31/05/12; Power-Link functions as the single point of contact for hydrogen matters in the province of WestFlanders.

The Greenbridge Science Park also houses a number of innovative demonstration projects to test and to monitor new energy technologies:

• Small Wind Turbines (SWT) are demonstrated and research is conducted on them in a number of projects. In particular, the electricity production and economic efficiency of various SWT designs are measured. Technical, mechanical and electrical aspects of the design are optimised in an onsite SWT field laboratory.
• The PV dual tracking project is a test set-up designed to measure the electrical and economic efficiency of new types of photovoltaic (PV) panels under varying weather conditions.
• A pilot alternative fuel station on the Greenbridge site is planned to provide natural gas (CNG) and biogas as well as electricity generated by using PV panels.
• The University of Ghent's Solar House project is a research initiative for the development of affordable energy self-sufficient housing options: a prototype do-it-yourself building-kit is under development to compete in the 2011 Solar Decathlon, a competition organised by the US Department of Energy for the design and demonstration of innovative solar powered houses.

Measurable data are being acquired and will be quantified by the end of 2010. In addition, the realisation of these kinds of demonstrations represents self sufficiency in energy for the Greenbridge incubator and its CO₂-profile.

Lessons learned and repeatability

When it comes to investments in new technologies, cases tend to stay theoretical because the practical action is a bigger threshold to cross, especially for households. In addition to the advice EOS provides, it also brings theory into practice by installing small energy reducing products in every house visited by an expert and by providing funds in order to persuade citizens to renovate their house if necessary.

The problem EOS regularly encounters is that demand is greater than supply. This was overcome by not promoting their services over the last year. In the mean time they're looking for extra funds.

Ostend - via EOS - is one of the few cities in Flanders who use the Flemish funds for energy efficiency investments. This successful system acts as an example for other cities in Flanders.

The cooperation with Fedesco in order to deal with the energy efficiency of government buildings is a pilot project in Belgium and acts as a test case in which the experiences can be used in the application of the same project in other cities and municipalities. The way the city of Ostend works ensures the efficiency of their investments. Even small investments in buildings can reduce energy consumption.

Setting up new cleantech or energy technology projects involves certain difficulties or ambiguities concerning legislation, funding, and attracting partners. Furthermore, for a variety of reasons, coordination and administration measures require considerable time and effort,  and may slow down the progress of the project. Scattered initiatives make it difficult to keep an overview of the experiences made and lessons learned. This obstacle lead to the development of the energy platform Power-Link, which acted as a coordinator, networker, and overall director of renewable energy research and demonstration projects. Through its Triple Helix approach, Power-Link is able to facilitate project initiation and quantify the results and the experience gained.

In synergy with Power-Link, the Greenbridge Science Park seeks high-tech investors in clean technology and aims to implement and demonstrate high potential techniques. Proof of this last aspect is the recent approval of the project "The Energy Box" (TEB): a demonstrator of new clean technologies. TEB demonstrates, interacts and commercialises emerging energy technologies.