Gothenburg, a green bond pioneer
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In 2013, Gothenburg was the first city in the world to issue green bonds to finance green investments. As there were no real frameworks or previous examples to go after, Gothenburg had to find its own way, step by step. Sustainable housing and transportation, waste and water management, energy efficiency and renewable energy were some of the identified areas were green bonds would finance projects. The focus was on mitigation and adaption to climate change.
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Bankability of urban excess heat recovery investments
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“We don’t lack money, but we lack good projects to lend money to” – answered a banker during an interview on financing urban excess heat recovery investments. Indeed, this is the key aspect to be considered in a bankability assessment: a “good project” is one that has an extremely low risk of not generating enough cash flows to repay the received loan, but the risk is not always measurable in objective terms!
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Consultation on the European Climate Pact
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The European Commission has launched a consultation on the Climate Pact. It is part of the European Green Deal which aims to be the new growth strategy for an EU economy that is sustainable, cleaner, safer and healthier. The European Climate Pact aims to engage citizens and communities in action for our climate and environment. In view of launching a “climate pact” in the 3rd quarter of 2020, the public consultation is open until 27 May.
The Celsius initiative wants to position itself as a partner for the Commission in the fight against climate change and, at the same time, put an emphasis on the urgently needed heat transition. In this light, we have prepared a response to the public consultation and also encourage you to reply on behalf of your organisation.
To discuss the joint Celsius reply, please join us on Tuesday May 19 at 10:30 CET.
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New funding calls for cities
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Are you a city representative wondering whether to apply for financial support to initiate energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, or financial support for R&I projects in Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods? This time, you don’t have to choose. There are currently two calls for proposals, each for one of the previously mentioned areas. This is the time to get started with the project you never had funding for. Don’t hesitate, read more and apply, follow the links below.
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The European City Facility (EUCF) will launch its first call for proposals on 25 May 2020. All municipalities (local authorities) and their groupings from the EU-27 and UK are encouraged to apply to get support in developing an investment concept and accelerate the implementation of their energy and climate action plans. The investment concepts represent an initial step towards a fully-fledged business and financial plan. Thus, they facilitate the subsequent mobilisation of (local) investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
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Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods may serve as a crucial contribution to achieve climate and energy targets. This call focuses on exchange of experience between ambitions and initiatives already going on. With this call, JPI Urban Europe aims to create a transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral community working in the field of the energy transition in the urban context, who can align, synthesise, consolidate, and learn from each other with regard to the development and mainstreaming of PEDs/PENs.
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100 Inteligent Cities Challenge
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The 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a unique opportunity for evolving EU cities to join a community that leverages advanced technologies, to tackle the pandemic crisis and reconstruct their economies while steering them in the direction of green smart sustainable growth. This will help cities to improve the quality of life and create new opportunities for their business communities.
ICC cities will receive high quality and tailored guidance and expert support, access to advisory and city peer networks and capability building tools, to drive priority policy goals and the uptake of advanced technologies.
The call for Expressions of Interest is now open.
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Following up on low temperature district heating
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Last month we focused on low temperature district heating, or LTDH. This futuristic technology facilitates the integration of low-temperature renewable energy sources, such as solar thermal, and recouperate heat from a wider range of sources in addition to lowering the distribution losses and still provide more than enough heat to warm homes and facilities.
Following up on this important and popular subject, below you will find a position paper, written by experts from our partner project ReUseHeat, on the role of low temperature waste heat recovery can help achieve the 2050 goals. A link to our April 2020 newsletter and to the LTDH webinar we hosted in collaboartion with the COOL DH project.
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A Policy Positioning Paper on the Role of Low Temperature Waste Heat Recovery in Achieving 2050 Goals
Urban waste heat recovery, in which low temperature heat from urban sources is recovered for use in a district heat network, has a great deal of potential in helping to achieve 2050 climate goals. For example, heat from data centres, metro systems, public sector buildings and waste water treatment plants could be used to supply 10% of Europe’s heat demand.
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COOL DH & Celsius Talk on Low Temperature District Heating
Hosted in partnership with COOL DH and the RELaTED projects, this webinar presents some of the opportunities and challenges cities may encounter in their efforts towards a sustainable and efficient energy system.
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Low Temperature District Heating, heating systems of the future
This newsletter includes articles giving a general introduction to LTDH networks, a description of the distribution technologies used both for space heating and domestic hot water as well as strategies and concepts for the implementation of these modern systems.
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Date: May 28 at 10:30 CET
Place: Online webinar
Desciption: During this month’s Celsius Talk we will take a deep dive into the muddy waters of financing. We will try to get some clarity by sorting out what the major challenges are and find the answers on how we can overcome them.
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Date: Every week
Place: Online webinars
Desciption: This series of weekly webinars in a completely different format and available for everyone! Grab your favourite coffee or tea mug and have a break while discussing district energy related topics in a very informal atmosphere.
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Date: May 18 - June 30
Place: Online webinars
Desciption: The Euroheat & Power Conference goes online with a series of webinars for networking, knowledge sharing and new learning opportunities highlighting the latest trends and forecasts around district heating and cooling.
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