The future is looking green
Project Zero is an ambitious plan to make a region in southern Denmark completely carbon neutral by 2029.
The centerpiece of a green future. A new sustainable urban development in Sønderborg is being designed by Frank Gehry (Photo: Sønderborg Havneselskab A/S)
The Sønderborg-region is rich in history. Its people have a centuries long tradition of ship building and merchantry, while their kings and dukes have riddled the landscape with castles and manors. Due to its situation in the very south of Denmark it has also been under both German and Danish rule. Taking their history into account, the regions inhabitants should be no strangers to change. A useful character trait, as they embark on tackling the biggest change of them all: Climate change.
Charting their challenges
In 2007 the Sønderborg-region decided that they would be completely energy neutral by 2029. This will be achieved through energy efficiency measures as well as by utilizing local renewable energy resources such as wind, sun and bio power. The project is called Project Zero and is a collaboration between the public and private sector. In 2009 they summoned 78 leading experts on energy as well people with local knowledge, to produce a report that gave an overview of the regions current CO2-emissions and suggestions on how to reach CO2-neutrality in a cost efficient way.
The report showed that reaching their goal will be a challenge. Today the average inhabitant of the Sønderborg-region account for 8,8 tons of CO2-emissions. The biggest emitters are the transport sector, the industry and housing, and in 2007 83 % of all energy came from fossil fuels. But the report also pointed out that there are large, untapped sources of renewable energy in the region, and that energy efficiency measures and utilization of spill heat have a great potential.
The ZERO+ house. In February 2009 Denmark's first plus-house opened. It is a cooperation between construction company SIB, consultants Grontmij|Carl Bro, energy company Syd Energi, Project Zero and Danfoss (Photo: projectzero.dk)
The road ahead
The challenge, which they have dubbed “The road towards zero”, is divided into phases. The first two phases concentrate on what can be done by 2015. Any measure that pays itself in a 4-5 year period will be executed as soon as possible. By 2015 they hope to have cut their emissions by 25 % through four concrete measures:
- Extending the district heating network
- Develop green district heating in urban areas, and focusing on heat pumps, solar heat an biopower in the rural areas
- Four new on-shore wind turbines
- Biogas production for combined heat and power plants and for the industry
The biggest share of a Sønderborg inhabitants CO2 emission comes from heating, so the main effort will be put into extending the district heating network. Today only 34 % of the regions buildings are connected to the district heating grid, and only 1 % have installed heat pumps. Making sure that the heat is produced from green sources is also a priority. Two central solar heating plants have already opened in 2009, and energy companies are looking into other resources such as geothermal and biogas.
Inspiring
Project Zero is however not only about technology, numbers, facts and figures. It also wishes to inspire and educate, to generate wealth and new jobs. A new urban development by ‘starchitect’ Frank Gehry, who is also responsible for the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, aims to rejuvenate Sønderborg city’s quayside. The new district will be designed to be energy efficient and to the extent possible be built with carbon neutral materials. The vision is that by 2029 the region will be an “exploratorium” for a dynamic energy system, a place that can inspire other regions in the world to change.
Project Zero A/S was established in the summer of 2007 to secure the legal and organisational manifestation of the ProjectZero vision. The ProjectZero Fund is the core of the process. The fund has been established with an overall asset of app. 20 million DKK (app. 2.7 million EURO). Because of the broad range of investors, (SydEnergi, DONG Energy, Danfoss, Nordea Danmark Fonden and the Council of Sønderborg), the organisation has to be regarded as a PPP – a public-private partnership.
