The ENERGY FOR MAYORS project was very successful in supporting the Covenant of Mayors initiative and its key actors, as well as in contributing to the sustainable energy development on the local level. Below you may learn more about the achievements that we’re especially proud of:

Increasing the capacity of Covenant Coordinators and Supporters across Europe

Covenant Coordinators and Supporter play a vital role in the CoM implementation – assisting municipalities in the SEAP process. Yet, they themselves need guidance and resources to be successful in this task. The ENERGY FOR MAYORS – as the first IEE project – strengthened CC&CS and increased their capacity inter alia through organization of a series of focused training seminars and workshops, development of a Support Package, exchange of experience and networking.

Development of a user-friendly Toolbox of Methodologies on Climate and Energy

The Toolbox was developed in order to centralize available tools, methods and guidance materials on sustainable energy planning and implementation. It is a user-friendly, multi-language online tool that helps both the CC&CS and the local authorities in the SEAP process. It already includes over 1 000 resources and the number is still growing thanks to the engagement of registered users who can add new resources to the Toolbox and evaluate existing ones. The success of the Toolbox can be demonstrated by the numbers – there are over 200 registered users and nearly 5 000 unique visitors visited the Toolbox since December 2012.

Development of the first “Joint SEAP” in Europe

The “Valli del S.O.L” group of municipalities located West from Genova (IT) joined forces and developed first “Joint SEAP” in Europe. The municipalities, which have less than 5 000 inhabitants each, soon realized that they couldn’t fulfill the CoM commitments easily and effectively without pooling resources. Therefore, they decided to take advantage of well established cooperation and common territorial identity and to developed a common SEAP with the shared CO₂ reduction target and a set common actions. The common actions cover buildings, public lighting, mobility, use of RES and communication and planning. Except for them, each municipality included in the SEAP some individual actions that are bound to local context.

The “Joint SEAP” was developed with the technical support of the Province of Genova, coordinator of the ENERGY FOR MAYORS project.

Development of a SEAP together with an Energy Management System to benefit from the synergies between the two tools

The ENERGY FOR MAYORS tested the possibility of developing a SEAP together with an Energy Management System following new ISO 50001 standard. SEAPs integrated with EnMS were developed in 8 pilot municipalities who benefited from the synergies between these two important tools. The activity helped to set up a standard for a monitoring system for SEAPs and contributed to the structuring of internal and external communication. It resulted in a very interesting guidebook that can help other municipalities to take advantage of this experience and adopt a similar approach.

Helping over 80 Covenant signatories to meet their goals

The ENERGY FOR MAYORS supported over 80 municipalities from different European countries in the development and implementation of a SEAP and in engaging citizens and local stakeholders in the process. These were mostly small and medium municipalities that lacked capacity and resources to successfully carry out the SEAP process on their own. Many more local authorities took part in the training events and exchange of experience organized by the project partners and increased their capacity in the fields of sustainable energy planning and implementation

Implementation of various interesting and replicable investments aiming at CO₂ reduction

Project partners also supported municipalities involved in the project in the implementation of selected actions envisaged in their Sustainable Energy Action Plans. Many interesting investments were implemented that may be a source of inspiration for other European local authorities engaged in climate protection and energy saving. Below are described some most interesting examples:

1. Energy Efficient Public Lighting in Vignola (Italy)
   The project, financed through ESCO scheme and supported by ELENA, foresaw the renewal of the existing public lighting network to make it more energy efficient. The project was implemented in the early 2013 and included also installation of smart (remote sensed) poles, allowing to activate further public services such as wi-fi or video-check of streets and buildings. Below are the figures well summarising the results:
   1. Final investment by the awarded ESCO: 2.7 Mio Euro
   2. Lighting points renewed: 2961
   3. Energy savings: 249 GWh/year
   4. CO₂ savings: 154 tCO₂ eq
   5. Cost savings: 60%
      
      
2. Energy retrofitting of 4 social housing blocks in Agia Varvara (Greece)
   The project GREEN NEIGHBOURHOOD addressed the renovation of four multi-family buildings constructed in 1964. These consist of four floors each, with an area of 1200 m² per building and seventy two apartments in total. The pilot project envisaged an upgrade of the building envelope and electromechanical installations, plus the integration of renewable energy technologies. The aim was to cover the energy needs by renewable energy as far as possible. Smart metering was also installed to control and monitor performance. Estimated CO₂ savings reach 451,2 tonnes of CO₂  per year.
   
   
3. Biomass district heating system in Ozajl (Croatia)
   The project of a biomass district heating system for the center of the City of Ozalj includes the installation of 800 kW biomass boiler and construction of centralized thermal network to connect consumers to the system. Heat produced from the biomass system is estimated at peak hours of 2000 hours per year and amounts to 1 600 MWh. Estimated CO₂ savings reach 413,8 tonnes of CO₂  per year
   
   
4. Model RES installation in Niepołomice (Poland)
   Niepołomice installed pilot RES system, using modern and innovative technologies, in the building of the Polish Gymnastic Society “Falcon”. The system includes: (1) solar installation based on hybrid solar modules (known also as PVT modules) which produce both thermal energy and electricity, (2) installation for storing produced energy in the form of hydrogen. Whenever needed, the hydrogen is converted back into electricity in a fuel cell installed in the building.
   Installation of pilot RES system was a demonstration project aiming at the promotion of RES use among the citizens, as well as at testing innovative technologies that increase efficiency of RES production.

Involving citizens in local energy actions

The ENERGY FOR MAYORS project also successfully involved citizens and local stakeholders in the development and implementation of local Sustainable Energy Action Plans, as well as in other energy-related initiatives implemented by their local authorities. This was accomplished through the organization of a series of energy forums and energy days targeting different groups of stakeholders. Some project partners went even further! For example, the City of Zagreb each year organized whole Energy Week with many different events aiming at the promotion of energy saving and RES use. Very interesting was also the competition “My Green World” organized for the students by ECQ, Bugarian partner of the project. During the competition students had to make pictures, drawings, models or write a couple of lines related to energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and green energy. Every participant received a  t-shirt with the project logo and symbols of different RES – water, sun and wind -  as well as the certificate. The winners in different categories received also certificates of achievements.