More than 60 people attended the last event organized under the project "Polish-Norwegian Platform for Cooperation for Energy and Climate Respect" - conference in Warsaw on 19 April 2017. I was aimed at presenting the most interesting results and products of the project, which can be a source of valuable inspiration, and useful tools for local governments implementing projects in the field of energy efficiency and RES use.

The event was addressed to all Polish local governments and their partners (institutes and research centers, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, private companies, etc.) who are interested in energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and also setting the cooperation with Norwegians and the exchange of experiences.

Press representatives were also invited: journalists from Local Government Portal PAP, Chrońmy klimat, Polityka, Rzeczpospolita, biweekly published „Środowisko” (Environment), "Intelligent Cities and Regions" magazine as well as local radio stations.

The third meeting of the EE and RES Experience Exchange Group, organized on 15-16 March in Warsaw under the project "Polish-Norwegian Cooperation Platform for climate and energy conservation", gathered over 40 people interested in co-operation between Polish and Norwegian local authorities, sustainable development and implementation of ambitious pro-environmental policies.

The first day of the meeting was filled with presentations and discussions on the 10 micro-projects implemented by the winners of the competition, in particular the exchange of experiences gained by the local government representatives during the meetings with the Norwegian partners. The form of OpenSpaceConference helped participants to learn more about Polish ideas inspired by model investments and pro-active initiatives of the Scandinavians. Discussions in small groups fostered the efficient exchange of experience related to the implementation of winning innovative projects and bilateral cooperation between Polish and Norwegian local governments.

Lublin and Sztum are the winners of last year competition for the most innovative project in the field of RES and EE, organized as a part of the umbrella project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation".

The objective of the Lublin City project is to improve the energy efficiency of a public building, to optimize the Lublin energy system and to identify cost-effective and harmless to the ozone layer possibilities of using the system heat to cool the offices during the summer.

In the case of Sztum, the main goal of its project is to modernize multi-family buildings using i.e. heat pumps, wind micro power plants with vertical axis of rotation, green roofs, living walls and energy storage. Due to the micro-grants implementation, the two municipalities have established a partnership with the Norwegian municipality of Ullensaker.

In the framework of the micro-project implemented under the umbrella project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation", the representatives of the Raciechowice municipality visited their Norwegian partners in Oslo, on 16-18 January 2017. The visit was preceded by a visit of the Norwegian partners in Raciechowice in November 2016. During this meeting, a representative of the municipality of Oslo got acquainted with Polish municipality’s plans to replace oil boilers with heat pumps in selected public buildings.

The trip to Oslo was focused exclusively on seeing building where the solutions similar to those planned in Raciechowice were used. One of them was school powered since 2010 with a heat pump equipped with two lower heat sources: vertical collector and horizontal one, installed directly under the asphalt surface of the school playground. Horizontal installation is mainly used in the summer, while vertical in the cold season. In addition, as a backup source, in case of low efficiency of the heat pump, the oil boiler, installed in the school before, is still used.

2nd webinar organized within the framework of the project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for energy conservation and climate", held on 18 January 2017, was focused on the energy education of citizens and their mobilization to achieve the local climate and energy goals. The speakers presenting their experience in this areas were the representatives of the Norwegian institutions: Laboratory of Climate and Energy and the Center for Education, as well as cities of Bielsko-Biala and Warsaw.

The first presenter was Inger Oddrun Sverkmo from the Climate and Energy Laboratory that has been operating since January last year in the newly established green building. It was built as a passivehouse at Nord-Gudbrandsdal Upper Secondary School and produces its own energy. The lab is monitoring the processes of energy production and consumption, ventilation and the photosynthesis in a phytotron.

On 12-14.12.2016 a study visit of representatives of the Milanówek municipality in the partner municipality of Frogn took place in the framework of the micro-project "Polish-Norwegian exchange of good practices".

Milanówek is one of the last year winners of the competition organized under the project “Polish-Norwegian Cooperation Platform for climate and energy conservation”. Ten best projects in the field of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in the municipal sector were selected within this contest. Micro-project prepared by Milanówek entitled "Polish-Norwegian exchange of good practice" focuses on development of a functional-technological concept of the recreation and leisure zone, using an innovative heat exchange system in a nearby sewage treatment facility.

future buildExamples of many interesting Norwegian pilot projects, developed in the area of energy efficiency and RES use, may be found at the FutureBuilt website: http://www.futurebuilt.no/English. FutureBuilt is a ten-year programme implemented by the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation in cooperation with the National Association of Norwegian Architects and other partners, which aims at the development of 50 innovative and inspiring investments contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and material consumption in the municipal sector. Pilot investments include construction of new buildings meeting high energy standards (schools, kindergartens, cultural centers, offices, social houses, etc.), development of cycling and public transport infrastructure, as well as sustainable development of whole city districts.

Until November 2016 43 projects were launched, many of which have been already completed or are in the advanced implementation stage. Their descriptions, including detailed characteristics of the technical solutions & materials used, may be found in the "Pilot projects” section of the website. The descriptions are available in Norwegian and English and include inter alia modernisation of the office building Fredrik Selmers vei 4 in Oslo to a passive building standard, installation of solar thermal collectors and heat pumps at the environmentally friendly school in Drammen or the project of reducing GHG emissions from the Tryvann Summer & Winter Park by 50% per visitor! Enjoy your reading.

Municipality of Pałecznica from Malopolska Region is one of the winners of the competition for the most innovative EE and RES projects organized within the project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation".

Project of the village of Pałecznica pt. "Smart house in the smart village" focues on using Norwegian experience and know-how to implement innovative solution in the national scale, i.e. the system of monitoring media consumption (energy and water), CO2 emissions and their management in the municipal network using GPRS technology. Within the framework of the micro-grant Pałecznica established a partnership with the Norwegian municipality of Hvaler.

On 19 December 2016 1st webinar was organized under the project " Polish-Norwegian Cooperation Platform for climate and energy conservation". It was held in Polish, and devoted to the topic of RES use. Good practices were presented by Pałecznica, Raciechowice and Gieraltowice. The webinar participants also had the opportunity to hear about the first results of the Polish-Norwegian exchange of experience established in the framework of the project.

Patrycja Płonka from the Association of Municipalities Polish Network „Energie Cités” talked about a study visit to Norway in September this year. During this trip the Polish delegation learned about the most interesting Norwegians’ actions in the area of energy efficiency and development of renewable energy. Then the representatives of Pałecznica and Raciechowice talked about their first experiences related to bilateral cooperation established with Norwegian partners in order to transfer know-how and tested pro-energy solutions.

Raciechowice as one of the ten Polish municipalities was awarded in the competition for the best and most innovative projects for energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources inspired by Norwegian best practices or possible to implement using Norwegian experience.

The contest was organized under the umbrella project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation". The goal of the micro-project prepared by Raciechowice was development of the pre-investment feasibility study based on the assumptions of the audits carried out in 9 public utility buildings from the territory of the Raciechowice municipality (4 schools, 2 centers for people with special needs, 2 office buildings and 1 cultural center). The study will include identification of the optimum solutions for improvement of energy efficiency in analyzed buildings, which will be based on the assessment of their technical condition and will focus on means improving the efficiency of the heating system.

Representatives of 10 Polish municipalities, who won the competition for the best ideas for innovation in the area of energy efficiency and RES use, took part in a weeklong study visit in Norway. During the visit they had an opportunity to get familiar with the model energy-related projects and initiatives implemented by Norwegian municipalities and their partners.

Norway is known for being a frontrunner in the implementation of the sustainable development concept and for many years already have been implementing ambitious environmental policies, which include pursuit for maximum use of locally available renewable energy sources. Main energy sources currently used at the area of the country are water and wind. Up to 99% of electricity consumed comes from renewables. Present objectives are also very ambitious - like the EU Norway is aiming for the 40% reduction of GHG emissions by 2030. Moreover, the country is planning to give up oil and gas heating by 2020 and increase waste recycling rate to 75% (today most of the waste produced is incinerated). It is also actively supporting use of electric vehicles, inter alia by fast development of charging infrastructure and tax allowances. Participants of the study visit could see the results of these actions, e.g. by walking the streets of Oslo, where there were many cars driving or parking that had a registration number starting with "EL" (meaning that the car is fuelled with electricity).  There were also many charging stations available. Not only the national government, but also the local authorities, contribute to the achievement of national objectives. Municipalities develop and implement so called Climate and Energy Action Plans, where they concentrate on supporting further RES use, promoting public transport, promoting walking and cycling andreducing emissions from wastewater treatment and waste management.

Platforma POL NORAll people interested in the subject of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources are invited and encouraged to exchange their thoughts, experience and ideas for actions through this interactive online forum of the Polish-Norwegian Cooperation Platform and to ask questions to the experts. You can participate in the dialogue both in Polish and in English.

The Polish-Norwegian Cooperation Platform brings together Polish and Norwegian local authorities and their partners (research institutes, financial institutions, NGOs, private companies, etc.) aiming at efficient dialogue, cooperation and exchange of experience and knowledge of technology and best practices in the field of energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources. Participation in the Platform facilitates establishing new contacts and lasting relationships between participants from both countries, which will form the basis for joint initiatives in the future.

Lublin, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Rumia, Płońsk, Pałecznica, Raciechowice, Sztum, Sopot and Milanówek these 10 municipalities are the winners of the contest for the best and most innovative projects in the area of energy efficiency and RES use. Each of them will receive 50 000 PLN for the preparation of necessary analyses and documentation, as well as will be supported in establishing cooperation with Norwegian partners, who will help them in implementation of their projects.

The winners were announced during the 2nd meeting of Experience Exchange Group (EEG), which took place on the 13th of June in Poznań. Organisation of the contest supporting transfer of Norwegian know-how to Polish municipalities was one of the main objectives of our Polish-Norwegian project. In total 20 different project were submitted for the competition by 19 Polish local authorities. All of them successfully passed through the formal assessment and the 1st stage of the content assessment, which was performed by experts in the area of energy.

20 micro-projects in the area of energy efficiency and RES use, which were submitted for our contest by Polish municipalities and municipal entities interested in establishing cooperation with Norwegian partners, successfully passed through the formal assessment and the 1st stage of the content assessment. At this stage project proposals were evaluated by the panel of experts in the field of energy. Now, it is time for their evaluation by other cities and municipalities participating in the competition. The evaluation meeting will take place in Poznań on the 13th of June 2016, between 10:00-15:30 (more information). Each municipality shortlisted for the 2nd stage of content assessment will have 5 minutes to present its idea for innovation and related micro-project. Then, other participants of the competition will complete evaluation questionnaires, where they will assess such aspects of the project as innovativeness, feasibility, potential environmental, economic and social impact or micro-project's usefulness for the implementation of the overall pilot concept. After the presentations, participants of the meeting will visit the Interactive Center of the History of Ostrów Tumski, while the Jury will summarise the results. The final score of each project will be calculated as a weighted average of scores given by the experts (60%) and scores given by the other participants of the contest (40%). 10 projects with the highest scores will receive micro-grants and winning municipalities will take part in the study visit in Norway. They will also establish bilateral cooperation with Norwegian municipalities.

List of projects shortlisted for the 2nd stage of content assessment (in Polish)

Broszura konkursowa

We invite all Polish municipalities and self-government units to participate in an open competition for micro-projects leading to innovation in energy efficiency or the use of RES, inspired by Norwegian experiences or possible to implement with the use of Norwegian experience.

The aim of the competition is supporting Polish municipalities in launching implementation of the 10 most interesting and innovative pilot projects in by giving them micro-grants for the preparation of necessary analyses, documentation, educational activities and other non-investment steps of the process (so called micro-project), as well as by helping them to establish cooperation with the Norwegian partners, committed to support them with their expertise and experience.

10 winning self-governments will delegate their representatives for the study visit to Norway.

We invite you to participate in a survey on the situation of Polish local governments in the field of energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources. The purpose of the study is to prepare a diagnostic report that will answer the question on current state of energy management in cities and municipalities, and will help to make a list of JST needs (regarding legislation, funding and education), so that they can efficiently implement pro-energy investments.

Nearly 50 people gathered at first meeting of the Local Experience Exchange Group (EEG), which took place in Krakow on 30 March and 1 April 2016. It was focused on the diagnosis of the situation of Polish local governments in terms of energy efficiency and the use of RES and the possibility of transferring tested Norwegian solutions to Poland.

The debate was attended by representatives of Polish cities and municipalities who have been addressing energy and climate protection for a long time and can make a significant contribution to the analysis of current and development of new pro-energy solutions. Norwegian experiences and good practices were presented by Ms Gunnbjørg NÅVIK from the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.


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Project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation" is funded under the PL04 Programme of the Bilateral Cooperation Fund, which is financed from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (NMF) 2009-2014.