Collaboration in Regional Energy Efficiency Development

Transcription

1 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND LTD Collaboration in Regional Energy Efficiency Development Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions 2015 Bolzano, Italy, November 2015 Markku Mikkola, Ari Jussila, Tapani Ryynänen VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

2 Introduction Background Energy efficiency is one key measure to achieve sustainability targets In regional context one opportunity is to utilize existing and new energy production technologies within the region more efficiently by matching the regional energy demand and supply more intelligently Challenges: Different stakeholders within the region manage and develop their energy use/production independently. Regional energy efficiency viewpoint is typically not included in decision making and planning Need: Collaborative decision processes between stakeholders to plan and develop regional energy system together with supporting methods and tools 17/11/2015 2

3 Regional energy collaboration context Energy resources Conversion technologies Energy delivery Energy users Wind Sun Coal Management of resources Investment in required technologies Management of delivery Wood = area/type of collaboration = Physical element of the energy system 17/11/2015 = company = authorities/ public organization 3

4 Theoretical background Case studies related to regional energy collaboration: Developing sustainable regional energy systems : a concept of energy autarky proposed by Muller et al. (2011) Energy efficiency development in an industrial cluster in Sweden by Jönsson et al. (2012) Theories: Loosely coupled networks Learning organization Co-innovation 17/11/2015 4

5 Developing collaborative approach to regional energy system development 1. Network initiation CONVERGENCE 2. Co-creation DISSEMINATION - Ideas - - FEEDBACK Organization A Organization B Organization C Project 1 Pilot 1.1 Regional optimization ACTIVE REGIONAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM 3. New regional culture Synergy mapping A C B n 17/11/2015 5

6 Case descriptions Two case regions located in southern Finland Case A: Medium-sized municipality Some large energy-intensive industrial companies Case B: Covers three medium-sized municipalities The energy system crossing all these municipalities forms a multifaceted system of different kinds of ownership and management structures Only few energy-intensive companies 17/11/2015 6

7 Methods Case study combined partly with participatory observation Semi-structured stakeholder interviews in both cases Six different stakeholders in both cases Municipalities, energy companies and industrial energy users The main themes of the stakeholder interviews Current energy solutions Development plans for the energy system Drivers and barriers of development Needs for potential energy efficiency services and regional cooperation in energy issues In case B, inter-municipal cooperation perspective emphasized A regional collaboration workshop in case A 17/11/2015 7

8 Supporting and barrier factors for collaborative development Case-specific supporting factors Case-specific barrier factors Case A Bilateral development of energy systems between stakeholders exists Size difference of the different stakeholders (in energy use) Different planning horizons of the different stakeholders Case B Collaboration activities exist in other areas between municipalities Municipalities often focus on the efficiency of energy utilization, whereas energy producers would like to extend the focus to the production side too (i.e. the whole energy system) Competition between municipalities Stakeholders energy consumption relatively low, not enough potential savings appeal Common supporting factors Energy efficiency is a common goal for all stakeholders Good relationships between personnel in different organizations Common barrier factors Limited resources to initiate and maintain active collaboration Internal energy efficiency development activities dominate external activities Energy efficiency is only one of many goals Lack of leader organization for the collaboration Competing long-term commitments Lack of commitment to joint long-term initiatives 17/11/2015 8

9 Conclusions Significant impact on regional energy efficiency goals could be achieved only if companies and municipal actors collaborate in long-term Collaboration leader/facilitator required role for municipal actors as they have a natural long-term interest in regional development Region wide energy efficiency optimization pursuit requires in-depth regional studies, joint master agenda and scenario work Regional energy efficiency workshops may act as a fruitful starting point in creating a shared understanding of the key issues and joint development opportunities The innovation network management principles used in business context work also in regional collaboration Future research: time consuming development effort requires longterm research collaboration to follow-up later development steps and achievements 17/11/2015 9

10 TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS