ZAVOD ENERGETSKA AGENCIJA ZA SAVINJSKO, ŠALEŠKO IN KOROŠKO

In the BB-CLEAN project 8 partners from 5 countries of the Alpine Region (AR) were working together to develop transnational policies for a sustainable use of biomass for domestic heating to minimize its negative impact on air quality and improve a smart use of biomass in the AR.

Biomass covers a large share of heat demand in the AR which can reach 90% for small municipalities in the Alps. That is why there was a need to support a better use of local resources and increase the energy self-sufficiency while reducing the impacts on climate and the environment. Biomass is available and affordable RES and its combustion involves critical aspects related to atmospheric particulate (PM) emissions, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Often unknown to population and local administrators is that biomass burning (BB) leads to consistent particulate matter (PM) emissions. They have an impact on natural ecosystems, on human health and even on climate change considering Black Carbon concentrations contained in PM emitted from BB.

The project focused on innovative open-source and interactive approaches for the awareness raising of citizens and local administrators about the critical aspects linked to BB and on the definition of strategic technological, economical and regulative tools to reduce the impact of BB in the Alpine valleys. The development of shared policy-relevant documents favoured the application of harmonized regulations for a sustainable use of biomass in the AR.

Addressing poor energy performance of public buildings is at the core of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive - EED and Energy Performance Building Directive - EPBD, but it is also becoming a growing financial issue in central European countries. In order to address this issue, eCentral supported key stakeholders in better understanding benefits of nZEB - nearly Zero Energy Buildings. The project proved that the nZEB approach, although innovative, is an optimal and cost-effective solution for the renovation and construction of public buildings.

Integrated low carbon policies and sustainable energy plans in the Alpine Space region are affected by common challenges. The future energy system, relying on renewable energies, will challenge all governance levels. Therefore, cooperation actions between all governance layers from villages to countries can help to make the Alpine Space a successful partner in the EU “new energy deal” for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The IMEAS multi-disciplinary team of technical, sociological, territorial partners, developed a consistent methodology and practical guidance for the creation and integration of roadmaps based on multi-level approaches to climate change mitigation, energy innovation potentials, economic structures and control of energy plans.

KeepWarm was an EU-funded project whose objective was to accelerate cost-effective investments in the modernisation of District Heating Systems (DHS). It brought together eleven project partners from a variety of relevant sectors from seven countries across Central and Eastern Europe.