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Here you will find up to date information on the Sustainable NOW project and other interesting news.

Focus on... Bologna

The project partner Municipality of Bologna shares some relevant dissemination and training activities conducted in recent months.
Dissemination Activities
Within the European Mobility Week 2009, citizens of Bologna have been involved in a two day event, on Sept. 18th -19th , entitled "Pedalando per Kyoto" (Cycling Towards Kyoto), dedicated to healthy lifestyles and sustainablility, and focused on the bicycle. The whole campaign saw the participation of about 3.000 people involved in various events. During this event the Municipality's Environmental Sector distributed brochures and information leaflets on the Sustainable NOW project, sharing with citizens the content and relevance of this initiative. In the main square of the city we held workshops for kids and children, focusing on Sustainable Energy, by the city Showroom "Energy and Environment".

At the beginning of 2010 other important dissemination and awareness-raising activities were organised in the context of Sustainable NOW: during "M'illumino di meno", on 12th February (the Italian event to recall the signing of Kyoto Protocol) and during the "Green Social Bologna Festival”, from 14th to 19th February, an event focused on the environment, energy saving, and sustainability for citizens. As part of the Sustainable Energy Week, on 23rd March the show-room “Energy and Environment” organized a public meeting with visits to the exhibition EnRi (Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation); SustainableNOW was presented, as well as two important tools for citizens: the "Kilowattene" software for the domestic electricity diagnosis, and Bologna Solar City, a geo-referenced application to know the potential of solar energy sustainability of city buildings.
LEAP guidance on development, based on expertise and experience
On 28th May 2010, during a Sustainable NOW financial workshop in the context of the "Terrafutura” event, in Florence, the Municipality of Bologna presented its experiences on energy retrofitting of public buildings.
On 16th June, expert and learner partners Bologna and Comunita Montana held a meeting, during which the staff of Bologna Energy Office described their experiences on how to best implement a LEAP (Local Energy Action Plan) or SEAP (Sustainable Energy Action Plan), how Bologna has overcome challenges, as well as lessons on the methodology of implementation of energy plans. Bologna shared knowledge on their energy audits of buildings of local heritage, the experiences of stakeholder involvement (including citizens and schools), and the creation of energy buying groups (eg. the ECHOAction IEE project).

Focus on... Climate Alliance

CLIMATE ALLIANCE offers various learning opportunities to all SUSTAINABLE NOW project partners
Within the Sustainable NOW project, Climate Alliance leads on capacity building in sustainable energy, supported by ICLEI Europe and other technical partners. Guidance is provided to local governments - from pioneers to beginners, for decision-makers and municipal staff. It includes providing support in developing CO2 emissions inventories and Local Energy Action Plans (LEAPs), as well as organising peer-to-peer exchanges and learning opportunities such as great study tours and staff trainee excercises. Through these activities we are also exploring some of the main challenges cities and towns are facing - gaining further understanding on local sustainable energy planning and implementation issues.

• Study Tours in Woking (UK) & Munich (DE)

In February 2009 and April 2010, study tours were organised in two advanced communities: Woking (UK) and Munich (DE). Model projects projects were visited, such as the Oak Tree House demonstration project and the Brockhill Retirement Village in Woking, as well as the Bauzentrum and a geothermal power plant in Munich. First hand observation works! The study tours focused on a range of different sustainable energy aspects and local stakeholder participation.

• Workshop on CO2 monitoring

A training workshop on CO2 emissions reduction planning and monitoring took place in Munich in April 2010. Experts from Climate Alliance and ICLEI Europe provided practical recommendations on how to collect energy data, and presented tools & methodologies for compiling a reliable CO2/energy database. These include the CA’s ECORegion Tool and ICLEI's basic GHG inventory spreadsheet. The methodology explored was the International Local Government Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis Protocol.
An additional CO2 monitoring training workshop will be organised in Rome in November (tbc). Please register your interest with us – l.blondel@climatealliance.org. Feel free to contact  our project GHG experts: Miguel Morcillo (m.morcillo@climatealliance.org) and Ian Shearer (ian.shearer@iclei.org) for more information.

• Staff Trainee Workshop & COE-COL twin partnerships

The learning communities have the opportunity to gain direct experience from their advanced 'twin' city partner - throguh the “Staff Trainee Programmes”. This will be a 5-day  in-depth learning exchange between: Miskolc with Woking; Rosignano Marittimo with the Province of Siena; Burgas and Ludwigsburg with Munich, Comunita Montana with Bologna. It will entail the exchange of information and know-how, addressing capacity development needs on issues identified during the project. Climate Alliance is coordinating this work.

The City of Ludwigsburg developed in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart an energy- and climate protection concept for the whole city. This will be the base of Ludwigsburg’s “Local Energy Action Plan” in the context of the Sustainable NOW project.
At the “Zukunftskonferenz Energie” interested citizens discussed about five topics: renewable energies, electricity, mobility, comprehensive measures and heating. The conference took place on the 9th  and 10th of July in the municipal film and media centre of Ludwigsburg.

The catalogue of measures was developed by the urban administration based on the city development concept “Chances for Ludwigsburg” and served as a base for the citizen’s discussion. The five topics are subdivided in several measures, e.g. the theme comprehensive measures is subdivided in the measures public relations, energy and school, Energetikom, co-operations, hybrid financial instruments, reaction on climate change and further education of experts. The catalogue of the five topics was discussed by about 70 participants from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm and 9:30 am to 2:00 am! A lot of different people took part in the conference, such as interested citizens, engineers, teachers and even two pupils from the 10th grade. This formation generated a lot of interesting and efficient discussions and proposals.
The concept is to serve also as a road map for the implementation of climate protection, sustainable energy-use, security of energy supplies and creation of value in Ludwigsburg.
In autumn 2010 the catalogue of measures will be discussed and concluded in the city council. The next step will be the start of implementation of the selected measures...

Outlook healthy for renewables according to Global Status Report
Global investment in renewables topped non-renewables for the second consecutive year in 2009, according to newly-released Global Status Report from REN21. The report also states that more new power capacity came from renewable sources than from fossil fuels in the USA and Europe during the same period.
According to REN21, almost 80 GW of renewable capacity was added worldwide, 37 GW of that in world-leader China. Despite the economic downturn, it seems as if investment in green energy grew and this trend carried on through to the start of 2010, which seen first quarter rise of over 50 percent on the same period a year before.
Worldwide, an estimated 3 million people are employed in renewable energies industries. With assistance from ICLEI, 180 cities and local governments were studied as part of the report and receive special praise for their willingness to establish future targets. REN21 are a renewable energy policy network.For further information, click here.

Energy education and PV installation in schools
Rosignano Marittimo has installed PV panels on seven of its schools. The total installed power of the plans is 102 kW, for an estimated production of 126.080 kWh, covering 44% of their total energy needs. With this action the municipality contributes to reducing 95 tons of CO2 emissions, saves 25 TEP per year, avoids 177 kg per year of SO2 and 240 kg per year of NOx. A special display located at the entrance of the schools show relevant data: installed power in Kw, produced energy in kWh, CO2 saved. This is a very useful tool for informing students and getting them interested in the topic of sustainable energy. Several activities were organised in these schools, placing the student in the center stage.

After receiving some lessons, students went around the school taking measures of temperatures and lighting in various rooms, using instruments such as digital thermometer and a light meter. They then issued a report to the Municipality asking for some improvements of the school building: the installation of equipment to regulate the heat in the rooms, installation of double glazed windows, etc. Students also started an awareness-raising campaign at the school to inform ways to reduce energy consumption. At the end of the project some Info Days were organised where students presented their results to the Municipality, the headmaster, parents and other students. The Energy Agency of the Province of Livorno (EALP) has been appointed to conduct these exercises.

LEAP development news
One of the most difficult phases of LEAP preparation is gathering data. Some companies do not easily share this information with other organizations, even if it is the Municipality. Nevertheless, in Rosignano Marittimo data gathering is almost completed, and so is the energy balance. As a further step, the CO2 emission inventory will be started. In order to have a more detailed perspective we are evaluating the CO2 emission inventory of both the Town and the Public Administration, so that it will be easier and more effective to plan the actions to be implemented.

City guidance session in January 2010
On January 29th 2010 a workshop was organised at Rosignano Marittimo with the presence of many local stakeholders, the Mayor, the local authorities, the Energy Agency of Livorno Province, the Energy Manager of R.M. and ICLEI representatives. The aim of the workshop was to share with all interested parties the Municipality’s plan to develop and implement a Local Energy Action Plan for the territory. This workshop represented a very important step, as it allowed all local stakeholders (both public and private) to get together, present their positions and discuss on concrete cooperation approaches.

Know the real cost of what your city is buying
Procurement decision makers can now calculate the life-cycle costs and carbon dioxide emissions of different innovative products and services they are considering purchasing with the help of the new SMART SPP Tool. The Tool was launched earlier this year in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Danish, and since today is also available in German.

Calculating the life-cycle costs of products is not always a straight-forward process and this is why a step-by-step user guide was also developed by the SMART SPP project partners to accompany the tool and provide further support to cities and public authorities - the users.

For further information click here.

Italy installs more solar PV than the US

In a dramatic display of the power feed-in tariffs have in driving markets, Italy installed more solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2009 than the entire U.S. Moreover, within the first quarter of 2010, Italy's total installed solar PV capacity was expected to exceed that of the US. Italy installed 720 megawatts (MW) of solar PV in 2009, nearly all of that on rooftops.

Italy introduced a system of feed-in tariffs for solar PV in February, 2007 after concluding that the previous program of Tradable Green Certificates was not delivering the results desired.
By the end of 2007, Italy had installed five times more solar PV than in the previous year. Despite numerous bureaucratic roadblocks, the solar industry took off in 2008 and installed nearly 350 MW, then a record-breaking number. Solar PV installations have been doubling since then and are expected to reach 1,500 MW in 2010.

To read the article click here.

Car fumes raise spectre of 1980s revival nobody wants...acid rain

Nitrogen emissions from motor vehicles and agricultural fertilisers, are combining with rain to produce nitric acid, and are starting to replace the sulphuric acid resulting from power-station emissions as a major source of the environmental scourge of the 1970s and 1980s, according to American experts.

To read the article click here.

EUSEW 2010 highlights a strong European movement
With its 5th edition, the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) held from 22 to 26 March 2010 encompassed 86 events in Brussels and across Europe - brining together energy experts in vibrant dialogue.  The European energy community discussed important developments and trends, with financing, cities and the use of low-carbon technologies three key issues covered in a number of sessions.
During the opening the new Energy Commissioner, Günther H. Oettinger, focused on the vast potential for renewable energy and energy efficient technologies – an attractive investment, especially when considering that Europe needs to replace about half its power generation capacity by 2030. “We have the technology, we have the organisational capacity, we have the finance”, said Claude Turmes, Member of European Parliament, who stressed the political nature of existing barriers. Despite the clear 20-20-20 EU targets, is political will to act still lacking? How can more widespread motivation and active engagement be stimulated?
Many speakers and experts have stressed the role of cities in this context, viewing them as catalysts to bring about a quicker transition to RES and EE implementation across Europe. The vital role of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), as a major city initiative, supports local climate and energy action. A number of organisations and local government networks, many of which are Supporting Structures to the CoM, shared their approaches in providing guidance and expertise to local governments.
The Sustainable NOW project workshop “Guiding cities towards an effective, integrated Local Energy Action Plan (LEAP)”, was one of a number of interesting sessions hosted by local government networks. In a room filled to capacity, eight communities shared their enthusiasm and developments in planning and implementing local sustainable energy solutions. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability presented the integrated management approach as a basis for Local ENERGY Action Plan (LEAP) development, with Climate Alliance sharing highlights of the capacity development activities in the project such as study tours, staff exchanges and expert workshops on financing.
“A sustainable energy week should not happen just once a year, but 52 times”, said Miguel Sebastián, Spanish Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade, addressing the daily relevance of sustainable energy. Efforts from all stakeholders should merge to achieve a sustainable energy society, in particular the dialogue between the local and national level needs to be intensified to further unfold potential. The roles of local governments and their contribution to achieving national and European climate and energy targets are addressed through the project LG Action (www.lg-action.eu), exploring needs, challenges and replicable experiences that can support achieving a sustainable energy future sooner rather than later.

Europe's path to 40 percent emissions cuts

The EU could double its 2020 target for cutting greenhouse gases.  Cutting emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 90 percent below by 2050 would be possible with radical changes to European lifestyles.

To read the article click here.

Solar panel costs 'set to fall'

The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research.
Tests show that 90% of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years.

To read the article click here.

The second Sustainable NOW e-newsletter has been published today. A pdf copy [257 kb] can be downloaded here.

Towards Sustainable European Infrastructures, EEAC Statement

19 Councils from 11 countries, all established by their governments to give expert advice on environment and sustainable development issues, endorsed a statement on sustainable European infrastructures. The EU will need a new more integrated and strategic approach in planning for electricity, transport and green infrastructure networks, in the view of its long term decarbonisation, biodiversity and sustainable development targets. The Councils therefore call for a review of the conventional "predict and provide" approach. A key challenge will be to establish a Transeuropean long-distance grid for renewable electricity based on sustainability principles. 

Download the statement of the 19 Environment and Sustainable Development Councils from 11 European countries here.

Event announcement

Invitation to join an exclusive 1.5 day long expert workshop on the topic ‘Developing new carbon neutral districts’ in Copenhagen (Denmark), 19 – 20 November 2009.

Find the invitation here.

Find the final programme here.

Event Announcement:

Solar Summits Freiburg - International Conference on Renewable and Efficient Use. Subject:Solar Buildings14 - 16 October 2009, Freiburg (Germany)

For further information, click here.

Event Announcement:

Open Days - European Week of Regions and Cities Global Challenges, European Responses

5 - 8 October 2009, Brussels (Belgium)

For further information, click here.

Event Announcement:

6th European Conference on Green Power Marketing 2009 - The future of green powers - Achieving an energy revolution in challenging times

1 - 2 October 2009, Geneva (Switzerland)

For further information, click here.

The Sustainable NOW Project leaflet as well as the 1st E-newsletter are now available for download in all five project languages here.

Covenant of Mayors - Sustainable Energy Action Plan Template now on-online

On 9 July 2009, the Covenant of Mayors Office released a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) template, which was developed together with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

The Local Energy Action Plans (LEAPs), which will be developed within the Sustainable NOW project, will use these SEAP templates as reference.

Download the documents here:

SEAP template

SEAP instructions

More information on the Covenant of Mayors: www.eumayors.eu.

The first Sustainable NOW e-newsletter has been published today. A pdf copy [302 kb] can be downloaded here.

The Sustainable NOW project leaflet is now available for download here.

© ICLEI Europe, 2009

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