Get to know Eskilstuna City..

.. having a kind of double-role within the PLEEC  project - on the one hand as PLEEC city partner and on the other hand as leader of Work Package 6 - we think you should learn more about this likeable city in Sweden.

Eskilstuna is a locality in Södermanland and the seat of Eskilstuna municipality. 64,679 of the municipality´s 101,170 residents live in the urban area.

Eskilstuna has a history as one of Sweden's most important industrial cities. Industry continued booming in the 1900s. More women started working and people who fled the Second World War got a job immediately upon arrival. Factories also recruited workers from the rest of Sweden and from Germany, Greece, Finland and the former Yugoslavia. Today there are many different nationalities represented in Eskilstuna. The municipality welcomes differences and works actively with diversity, equality as well as environment. Some of the city's activities are also LGBT-(lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgendered) certified.
Eskilstuna is today one of the municipalities in Sweden that has the strongest growth. Mälardalen University and fast connections to Stockholm have been crucial success factors.

The manifold countryside is very important for Eskilstuna´s development and attractiveness. Great leaf tree forests and open plains surrounding the lake Hjälmaren, Mälaren with its many islands, the mixture of forest, fields, pastures and lakes, and forest areas with mountains, rocks and forest ponds can give the visitor many fine experiences.

Eskilstuna is working for a climate neutral Municipal Group in 2020 and a climate neutral Eskilstuna in 2050. Ecological sustainability is one of the strategic objectives of the entire Municipal Group which involves a low carbon footprint, protection for air, water and land from pollution and a nature with maintained diversity.
Eskilstuna has Sweden's largest landscaped wetlands for wastewater treatment. The entire city traffic now consists solely of biogas buses and the CHP plant is powered by 95 percent renewable energy.

As both eco-municipality and climate municipality, Eskilstuna is in the lead in sustainable development. In 2012, Eskilstuna was Sweden's greenest municipality, according to the magazine “Miljöaktuellt” and has been top ranked after.

As leader of Work Package 6 of the PLEEC project Eskilstuna is responsible for guiding the process of developing energy efficiency plans for the cities.
Eskilstuna as one of the PLEEC cities focuses on its plan to reach the EU 2020 goal of 20 % increased energy efficiency by 2020. In order to create an effective energy efficiency plan for Eskilstuna, the views, expertise and commitment from both private and public organizations will be taken in.
Let´s together cut the energy bills!

The 2030 Energy Climate Package - An overview about its main provisions, relevant challenges and the critical feedback

Hi folks, let´s change our angle/perspective for a moment and have a look what´s currently going on at the European political level.

In October 2014 the European Council adopted the 2030 Energy and Climate Policy Framework setting three new headline targets:

•  40% reduction of GHG emissions relative to 1990
•  27% contribution to the final energy consumption from renewable energy
•  27% improvement  of energy efficiency with respect to business-as-usual by 2030

The first two targets are binding at EU level, however the third is only indicative.

In addition to the targets, three funds were established or enhanced: the first, an increase of the New Entrants Reserve NER-300 fund for renewables to NER-400 with the addition of funding for CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) projects; the second, funded by 2% of the allowances for needs in low-income Member States (GDP less than 60% of the EU average) and the third, funded by 10% of the allowances for needs of Member States whose GDP is less than 90% of the EU average.

The 40% reduction of GHG is to come from the ETS (European Emissions Trading System) and the non-ETS sectors. Flexibility is allowed in the ETS sector, e.g. for inclusion of transport, and also in trading shares between Member States and even swapping parts of targets between ETS and non-ETS sectors.

The second target is to be reached by contributions from all Member States. In order to reach the aim of 27% contribution from renewables to the final energy consumption, the Member States can formulate their own policies, but in full compliance with the State Aid Guidelines and the EU target model of a fully liberalized and connected internal energy market.

However there remain uncertainties within this new package. Especially, the fact that the target regarding the increase of energy efficiency is just indicative leads to investment uncertainty as the indicative sectoral targets set by the EC will not be translated into nationally binding targets. Yet energy conservation, including in the housing sector, has a high potential for emission reduction and economic savings.

In summary, the 2030 Package represents an evolutionary extension of the general direction set by the 20-20-20 Package, with a main focus on GHG emissions reduction.

To read all details of the 2030 Package download the EC Staff Working Document under the following link:

http://www.buildup.eu/sites/default/files/content/CELEX_52014SC0015_EN_TXT.pdf