Since its initial mission statement was drawn
up in 2010, the area has aimed to source all of its required electricity from
renewable sources. As projects have expanded over the past decade, partners
have dubbed the approach “prosumer” culture, an integrated energy
infrastructure based on a smart grid concept.
Here are a few key features of what could
become a testbed for smart (and green) cities of the future:
- The sustainable district project comprises the construction of 9,000 houses and 9,000 workplaces. These buildings, alongside regional transport, are to be powered by locally produced biogas, biomass, solar, waste, and wind energy.
- The intelligent smart grid interacts with both the individual energy needs of buildings as well as weather conditions. For example, it produces as much wind energy as possible on breezy days and stores leftover electricity for later use.
- The interaction happens through an energy manager that connects with the management systems of individual buildings to share real-time information. This allows apartments or houses to decrease or increase the set values for the radiator circuit, and for energy providers to charge or discharge the building with energy.
- The regional project will also feature sustainable transportation, waste management and recycling.
(© Maria Eklind)
