Energy positive energy system…

…produces locally the energy that is used in the region

…is based on the energy community, bringing together residents, companies and the city at the same table

…is based on carbon-neutral solutions, technology and intelligent optimization

Identifying needs and actors

Identify necessary changes and key drivers

• There are many legitimate reasons for the co-creation of the energy system, so-called drivers and change needs. The starting point for regional development is to define the key changes or drivers that co-creation aims to address. These may include, for example:
• A national, regional or municipal carbon neutrality target
• Identified energy supply challenges and crises
• Increasing the resilience and flexibility of the regional energy system
• Overall energy system development needs (investment needs and upgrades related to infrastructure and production)
• The key to identifying change needs is to establish the timing and severity of the risks: how significant are the change needs and what changes are we trying to address? The need for change may be due to local changes (regional new construction, good user experiences with new technologies) or national or global change (national carbon neutrality target or global energy crisis).
• Identifying the change needs and key drivers is best done in cooperation with regional actors, but it can be done internally by the city’s own experts, followed by a round of comments from the actors. It is essential to critically assess and identify key energy system development needs and risks. A key aspect of the analysis is to look at the impacts of the changes, above all on regional actors: what kind of change needs do the drivers create for housing associations or the local services?

Identify and bring together the key actors

• Once the need for development has been identified and assessed, the next step is to bring together the key actors involved in the energy system in the region. The actors should be convened by the city or regional energy company, which play an intrinsic role in the development of the energy system.
• The identification process should include an assessment of which actors produce and use energy and will participate in the construction and maintenance of the energy network. You should also assess which actors might have the potential to implement energy storage measures.
• Organise a joint kick-off event with the actors identified to review the regional need for change and to start a dialogue between the actors.

Typological specificities/remarks concerning the area:
• In completely undeveloped areas, the need for change arises from the carbon neutrality needs of the city or municipality as part of the overall local development review.
• In rural areas, the regional energy company may also be a local electricity distribution company or several such companies.

Needs and current state mapping

Identify current system choices, energy production potential, and initial energy efficiency potential (current state analysis)

• The actual development work requires as input a clear data model of the current regional energy system (forms of energy production, main uses, and infrastructure). The current state analysis also identifies the expected development trends in the region and current plans for development of the energy system. Sustainable and smart co-creation will ensure that the future network is also optimised in relation to the measures and choices already made.
• Another key measure is to assess the regional energy production and savings potential, including the use of solar energy (property-specific electricity and heating systems & solar parks) and geothermal energy, waste heat recovery, ILP solutions, energy efficiency and savings measures, and other more advanced methods such as large heat pump plants or wind farm projects. The key is to understand the savings potential of the region and the possibilities for producing energy self-sufficiently for the region’s needs.
• Third, the potential and opportunities for energy efficiency measures in the existing built environment and among other energy users must be assessed.

Identify the key needs and potential of each actor

• The second component is clear dialogue (workshop, dialogues between actors) on the needs for change and the capacity of the actors to implement energy system development measures. The possibilities for different users (housing associations, businesses, public space users) to implement development measures vary according to the resources available to each actor. The potential of actors must be assessed in terms of their financial investment support needs and their motivation for promoting energy positivity.
• The needs and potential of actors must be based on a well-founded analysis of the current situation, which allows for dialogue and enables the actors to reflect on their own potential.

Typological specificities/remarks concerning the area:
• In an existing area, dialogue with existing users and the potential of the actors is essential to motivate them and to identify different solutions.
• In rural and low-rise residential areas, involving individual property owners is also essential, but it is more challenging to involve a sufficiently wide range of people.
• In undeveloped areas, achieving energy positivity can be set as a target state and a regional energy system can be created to support it. Achieving energy positivity in already built-up areas may not be realistic.

Setting objectives

Set a regional energy positivity target

• The energy positivity target must be based on estimates of the region’s energy production and savings potential, as well as the potential of the actors. Regional target setting should take into account current and future constraints and set a jointly binding and ambitious goal for the development of the energy system in the region.
• A wide range of methods can be used to identify stakeholders’ views and constraints, such as an online survey or participatory workshops to prioritise options. An open workshop format is recommended, as it allows the actors to work together on the objectives and discuss the constraints identified.
• When setting objectives, it is important to think about the responsibilities and roles of the different actors and to assess the options available. At the same time, the setting of regional targets needs to reflect wider regional targets and measures (municipal and city level), as well as national targets and measures (e.g. the national carbon neutrality target and measures).

Create a regional energy community

• The development of a regional energy system and the pursuit of energy positivity requires the creation of an energy community, which serves as a common planning, communication and decision-making platform for energy users in the region. Initiation of the energy community’s work requires regional targets to be set and the parties involved to commit to them.
• The energy community is a permanent cooperation structure at the heart of the regional energy positivity target. The energy system of the future, the energy community, will reform the energy system from a centralised to a more decentralised model, changing traditional roles and responsibilities. Each regional stakeholder becomes an energy user, but potentially also an energy producer and storer. To succeed, the energy community must have clear rules and structures for dialogue, planning, and decision-making. 

Typological specificities/remarks concerning the area:
• In existing areas, the objectives should be set together with the widest possible range of local stakeholders, to facilitate future cooperation and communication.
• In a new, undeveloped area, the views of the city/municipality and other actors using the area are key to the development of a regional energy system.
• In all types of areas, particular attention should be paid to the environmental, social or cultural values of the area and the identification of user groups through these dimensions.
• In undeveloped areas, the views of energy producers other than those already operating in the area and the interest of other actors in developing a regional energy system should also be highlighted.

Identifying opportunities for action

Identify energy measures to be promoted jointly with different stakeholders

• Once the potential of different measures and actors has been identified at regional level, critical measures to be promoted to achieve energy positivity can be jointly assessed and selected. The measures chosen must be based on the potential assessment produced and the existing and future constraints identified for the actors and the region. The identification of measures must be done jointly, so that clear roles and responsibilities can be assigned to the different actors. Without shared commitment to and understanding of common measures, implementation often falls short.
• In the selection of measures, it is useful to use participatory methods such as workshops to discuss the different options and, if necessary, assess the benefits of the different options. The workshop should bring together all the material produced on the energy potential of the region and the preliminary plans already implemented into a common data set.
• The material and plan resulting from the workshop will be made available for comment to regional stakeholders through key electronic and physical channels.

Identify and define the roles and responsibilities of actors

• Achieving regional energy positivity requires a number of different measures, and not all actors will be involved in all of them. Nor is it likely that every actor will continue to be a producer or storer of energy. Security of supply must also be managed by professional parties.
• Each actor in the energy community should be assigned a clear role and measures to which they are expected to commit. For each actor, it is necessary to jointly identify how they will participate in the energy community (infrastructure designer, builder or solutions provider; energy producer, user, saver and/or storer). The key to engagement is to focus on engaging all the regional actors that are key to promoting energy positivity, such as the city, the regional energy company, the largest residential buildings, industrial energy users, and transport operators.

Typological specificities/remarks concerning the area:
• Built and existing infrastructure can significantly limit the achievement of the energy positivity target and the opportunities to be exploited.

Setting up an energy community

• What is an energy community?

Create a regional energy community and a community action plan together

• The creation of an energy community can take place, for example, in a series of joint workshops to clarify the rules, the action plan and the roles and responsibilities of the energy community actors. For the workshops, a clear operating model or other preliminary structure for the energy community should be developed by experts to ensure that the work with the different actors is as smooth as possible. Examples of energy communities include the Särkänniemi Energy Community in Tampere. The establishment of an energy community must also include a monitoring model to track and evaluate progress.
• Setting up an energy community requires groundwork and preparation, which the city can contribute to as part of earlier work stages. In the creation of an energy community, a position should be taken on how the energy community will relate to other regional planning and decision-making, and the role of the energy community in regional communications agreed upon. For example, the energy community can play an important role in promoting regional and urban planning, but this must not conflict with the existing processes. The aim is to streamline and support other planning and decision-making work, not to create duplicate decision-making channels.
• When creating an energy community it is also worthwhile identifying other regional energy communities and planning how other communities will be involved in the regional energy community work.

Consider establishing a regional energy commitment

• It is recommended that the energy positivity objective and the principles of the energy community be written down in a joint commitment that would bind all interested regional actors. The purpose of the commitment is to establish a framework for future development and to serve as a guiding document for new operators in the region too.
• The commitment should also take a position on the role of the energy community in relation to other elements of energy system development, such as the city’s planning and decision-making processes. The role, objectives and responsibilities of the energy community should be included in the regional commitment.
• The commitment can also address the following, for example: the energy positivity target; the structure and principles of the energy community; regional land use recommendations and constraints (e.g. sustainable land allocation terms); building constraints and requirements, principles and agreed practical measures to promote the circular economy, agreed targets and measures to reduce other environmental impacts; other planning constraints and recommendations.

Typological specificities/remarks concerning the area:
• In already built-up areas, the energy community must take into account existing energy system structures and avoid creating duplication of operating models or communication. The connection to existing structures must be taken into account as early as possible.
• In completely new areas, the regional energy community can also operate as part of other municipal planning until a sufficient number of actors settle in the area to make the regional energy community a meaningful structure to develop and maintain.
• There can be several energy communities at different levels, which requires taking into account the overlapping channels of communication among the communities.

Period of use & lifecycle

Monitor developments and update energy community targets and measures as necessary

• At regional level, users’ energy needs (e.g. heat demand) and opportunities (new technological energy production solutions), as well as national and global challenges (energy crises, climate change), are constantly changing. Other regional dimensions, such as transport and the local environment, are also evolving in their own right, to which the energy community must respond.
• The energy community needs to respond to changing internal needs as well as to external needs. The energy community must monitor the implementation of the measures set and energy positivity in relation to the plan (energy positivity target). A timely and continuously updated monitoring model will help. On the other hand, the energy community must be able to continuously monitor and evaluate the success of the functioning of the regional energy community and react to any system-level anomalies and upgrading needs (system performance).
• The energy community rules must state when and how the community will convene and who will be responsible for collecting and processing the data used for monitoring. Various simple digital platforms can be used to implement monitoring and increase transparency. Today, there are numerous open interface solutions available at national and regional level in Finland, which can be used to create a comprehensive picture of regional development and the need for change.
• The energy community also has a key role to play as a forum for interaction, sharing information and best practices with different stakeholders. To this end, the energy community must have an interaction and communication model to ensure effective sharing and use of information. The interaction and communication model may include digital distribution channels (website, social media, targeted group communication tools), physical announcements and advertisements, and standardised stakeholder meetings, among other elements.