How bus stops can become an ecological showpiece of the city – a visit to Siemiatycze
In 2017, in the city centre of Siemiatycze – at John Paul II Square, two unusual green stops were created. They are planted with flowers and have mini gardens on the roof.
The project entitled ‘The Living Bus Stops – modern ecological solutions in Siemiatycze’ was implemented with the financial support of the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Białystok (Wojewódzki Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej, WFOŚiGW) in Białystok in the amount of 60,000 Polish Zloty from March to June 2017.
During the construction of the bus shelters, greenery was combined with natural wood. Plants were selected to change with the seasons of the year. The bus stops are also equipped with boards presenting simple tips for residents regarding environmental protection in everyday life and with irrigation system, significantly simplifying the maintenance of greenery. It is worth adding that in the evenings the ‘living’ shelters, thanks to the LED lighting, look as attractive as during the day.
Climate protection despite budget constraints – a new handbook for local governments issued under the BEACON project
The activities of cities and municipalities for sustainable development, energy transformation and climate protection are more and more advanced, local governments are eager to engage in ecological projects, wanting their cities to be perceived as environmentally friendly places. However, municipalities’ budgets have their limitations, and the level of expenses resulting from the tasks entrusted to them is increasing, therefore the implementation of many investments in energy efficiency improvement, air quality or renewable energy sources depends on possibilities of obtaining financial support or the use of new financing instruments and tools.
SUPPORT DHC: Supporting a fast implementation of low-grade renewable energy and waste heat for district heating and cooling
The aim of the project is to support owners and operators of the district heating and cooling (DHC) sector and all related stakeholders, such as local authorities, in the energy transition, and thus work towards the common goal of a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.
The main challenges facing the DHC sector are:
- carrying out the necessary investments in DHC infrastructure and the associated huge implementation efforts,
- the upcoming definition for energy efficient DHC in Article 24 of the EED revision will define a clear roadmap until 2050 and thus requires a holistic transformation planning of DHC operators for decarbonizing their DHC systems in line with the EED,
- technologies such as low-grade renewable energies (RE) and waste heat (WH) are new to many operators and create the need of technical support to many subprocesses of DHC transformation and investment planning.
Energetic transformation of Polish cities and municipalities – the seminar in Serock
After such a long lockdown filled with numerous restrictions and online work – the first event could finally be organised, where the representatives of local governments from all over Poland had a chance to meet in person.
On 30th June – 1st July 2020 in Serock near Warsaw, a seminar entitled ‘Energetic transformation of cities and municipalities – mitigation and adaptation to climate change’ took place. During the seminar, issues related to low-emission transformation in cities in the context of the EU’s goal of climate neutrality and issues concerning the financing of the local activities for climate change mitigation and adaptation were discussed. Participants had a chance not only to listen to the presentations and to participate in a discussion panel, but also to take advantage of consultations and exchange of experiences in small groups during an interactive session of good practices.
During the opening of the seminar on 30th June 2020, the participants were welcomed by Artur Borkowski, the mayor of Town and Municipality of Serock, – Leszek Drogosz, the president of the Board of The Association of Municipalities Polish Network ‘Energie Cités’ and director of the Infrastructure Office in the City Hall of Warsaw –, and Anna Jaskuła, the director of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network ‘Energie Cités’ office.
1st meeting of the Polish Regional Stakeholder Advisory Group
On the 27th of February 2020 the first meeting of the Polish Regional Stakeholder Advisory Group took place in Płońsk, in the City Hall within the ENTRAIN project. The aim of the project is to increase the competence of local authorities to develop and implement local strategies and action plans to help boosting RES application within district heating networks in the region. Partners from 6 EU countries participate in the project and the Polish pilot city is Płońsk, which has a very well-functioning biomass-fired electrical power and heating plant. It is planning new capacities using RES within the Płońsk Energy Cluster.
The results of the first stage of the competition under the "Local Development" Program has been announced
We already know the list of 54 municipalities, whose projects were selected for the second stage of recruitment from 213 submitted ones, under the "Local Development" Program, financed from EEA and Norwegian funds.
Among the qualified 54 municipalities were 4 cities-members of our Association: Ełk, Piastów, Jasło and Cieszyn. Congratulations!
Now they are starting the intensive work on the preparation of a complete project proposal (together with the Local Development Plan and the Institutional Development Plan) with comprehensive support from the experts of the Association of Polish Cities and the Institute of Urban and Regional Development.
The duration of this phase will depend on the pace of work of the Applicants and the course of cooperation with the abovementioned experts. It will take at least 6 months.
Real-time monitoring of energy consumption saves money!
Within the TOGETHER project our Association installed smart metering system in 9 pilot buildings located in municipalities of Besko, Raciechowice and Żyraków. The system measures real-time electricity and heat consumption and should not only help in optimising energy management (and thus reducing energy bills) but also give immediate feedback on the real effects of implemented energy-saving measures. And we can already see the first of them! One of the pilot buildings is the Town Hall in Besko, which has been experiencing problems with reactive power since the installation of central UPS (uninterruptible power supply). Such energy is not included in the energy consumption but is treated as an undesirable phenomenon and scrupulously measured by modern energy meters. In a bimonthly billing cycle the charges for reactive power only reached 500-800 PLN (approx. 120-190 EUR) depending on the season. Two companies undertook effort to compensate this power but with limited success as nobody could precisely indicate the times the phenomenon occurs and its intensity.
Energy-saving tips for public buildings managers and users
Public buildings are used by many people: workers, service persons, visitors etc. Studies and common practice are unanimous in saying that user behaviour matters a lot when it comes to improving energy efficiency and reducing the building’s carbon footprint. Even the technical-only measures one can adopt (such as a building’s retrofitting) are more effective and less expensive when combined with educational and motivational activities, as well as better operation and maintenance of the new or modernised systems and equipment. In order to encourage more conscious use of energy, the consortium of the TOGETHER project, where our Association is a partner, prepared three sets of energy-saving tips addressed to three different users’ groups:
Bridging European and Local Climate Action - BEACON
To successfully implement the Paris Agreement and the European climate and energy targets for the year 2030 and beyond, climate action needs to be enhanced on all relevant levels of governance. National governments need to create effective policies and framework conditions. A crucial contribution to the achievement of the EU climate protection goals will be made by municipalities and local actors. These stakeholders can be pioneers and drivers of profound decarbonisation and social transformation processes as their actions have considerable potential for increasing energy efficiency and saving greenhouse gases. Schools and other educational institutions in particular can play a key role by reducing their own energy consumption but also educating future generations for a climate-friendly world.
Invitation for Covenant Cities
Dear Energy Cities members,
Here is an opportunity you wouldn’t like to miss!
The Covenant of Mayors – Europe has launched the first Covenant Cities in the Spotlight call, and the awarded cities/towns will win a trip to the International Conference on Climate Change 2019 in Heidelberg, which happens to be held back to back with… your favourite network’s annual conference - yes, Energy Cities’.
This call is open to all cities and towns committed to the Covenant of Mayors - Europe.
We would be delighted to see one (or more) of our members win!
All information on this call is available here.
We wish you the best of luck!
