VAASA
NORDIC ENERGY CAPITAL
LEADER IN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY It’s more than luck that the Vaasa region is home for the leading energy cluster in the Nordic countries. It’s the result of persistent hard work and the sum of many factors, such as the region’s industrial traditions, international business life and exceptionally wide-ranging cooperation between the region’s companies, the public sector and educational institutes.
The region’s companies have purposefully invested in the fast-growing global energy market. Today, as a result, we can offer excellent solutions for numerous global energy challenges. The city of Vaasa is committed to setting an example. The city boldly promotes sustainable development through improved energy efficiency, the implementation of innovative solutions for energy generation and distribution, as well as investments in education and research.
Vaasa’s target is to lead the development of sustainable energy solutions in Finland. It’s a mission with a global span: we develop solutions that benefit the whole world.
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WE MAKE THE WORLD MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT
EU energy and climate agreement In the agreement established by the European Commission, signed in December 2014, Vaasa and many other European cities commit to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020.
Vaasa has committed itself to several international, national and regional projects and agreements aimed at reducing the strain on the environment and increasing energy efficiency.
20% lower carbon footprint by 2020.
Energy efficiency agreement
EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive gave Finland the indicative energy saving target of 9% for 2016. In Vaasa, the agreement compiled in co-operation with the Ministry of Employment and the Economy set the target at approximately 9 GWh, which was achieved already by the end of 2014. The city decided to raise the bar. The new target is a saving of 11.7 GWh. The aim is to save energy corresponding to the annual consumption of 585 private houses (11.7 GWh).
Energy and climate programme Vaasa’s very own Energy and Climate Programme presents the concrete actions, responsible parties, schedules and resources required to achieve the set targets for emission reductions.
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ENERGY IS OUR BUSINESS The 140 companies in EnergyVaasa, the leading energy cluster in the Nordic countries, export their products and solutions all over the world. This is also why Finland brings home a considerable share of the global investments made in energy technology. With a total turnover of more than EUR 4.4 billion, EnergyVaasa produces 12% of Finland’s technology export sales and a third of its total exports in energy technology. The EnergyVaasa companies offer solutions for renewable energy, smart grids and smart energy generation, as well as improved energy efficiency for industry, housing, construction and shipping. The investments in research and product development in the Vaasa region have tripled in the last five years. Thanks to these investments, and the fact that the region’s top experts in the business are committed to continuous development, EnergyVaasa has secured its position as a significant player in the global energy technology market.
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LONG-TERM POLICIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIONS LARGE AND SMALL Vaasa actively promotes energy efficiency and adopts new energy generation, transmission and distribution technologies. Every decision made in the city takes emission reduction and energy efficiency into account, including plans for infrastructure, building and traffic. The examples presented in the following pages speak for themselves: Vaasa has plenty of unique expertise in the energy business and we utilise it widely. 7
Energy efficient public buildings
Indoor and outdoor lighting
The Vaasa housing sector started to systematically monitor the energy consumption of its building stock as early as the 90s. The gathered data and know-how is reflected in the energy efficiency of the buildings. For example, the city’s schools and day-care centres are among the most energy efficient in Finland.
In Vaasa, the energy efficiency of streetlights and other outdoor lighting has been considerably improved through careful planning, automatic control based on actual needs and by using new, more energy efficient lighting technology.
On average, the schools in Vaasa are 17% and the daycare centres up to 23% more energy efficient than the Finnish average. One significant building is the Porvarinkatu school, built in the 1970s, and renovated recently with top energy efficiency in mind. The airconditioning system was upgraded with a heat recovery system, and solar panels were installed on the roof, generating 14 MWh of electricity per year. Thanks to the new technology, the school can now recover 65% of heat from the outgoing air. The savings in energy costs are around EUR 17,000 a year.
The reforms in lighting in Vaasa completed in 2014 save a total of approximately 178,000 kilowatt hours. The carbon dioxide emissions decreased by approximately 53 tonnes a year, which corresponds to 350,000 kilometres driven by car.
One significant reform in lighting was carried out in one of the largest multi-purpose halls in Finland, the Botnia Hall. Thanks to the Array LeS lighting technology installed here in 2014, the savings amount to approximately EUR 60,000 per year in electricity and maintenance. After the lighting renovation, the lighting quality and the functionality of the system have also significantly improved. 8
Energy solutions for new buildings Wasa Station is a multi-purpose block planned at the site of the old bus station. According to the plan, there will be a shopping centre, a music and congress centre, a hotel & restaurant and multi-purpose facilities for sports, as well as offices and apartments.
Zero energy residential area The residential area generates more energy than it consumes: electricity generation is 120% and heat generation 160% compared to the calculated needs of the area. The residential area by the sea in Suvilahti is the first in the world to implement several energy technology innovations, which make it a zero energy area. As much electricity and heat is generated as is consumed. Energy is extracted from the ocean floor and from a nearby landfill to cover the needs of the 39 small houses and four apartment buildings. Heat is recovered from the sediments of the ocean floor and distributed over the entire residential area via a centralized low-voltage grid.
Once finished, Wasa Station will be a showcase of the region’s energy and construction technology know-how. Wasa Station will use new and innovative energy solutions together with modern construction technology. This will balance the energy consumption in the block and reduce the need for energy substantially.
The area also utilizes biogas, or methane, produced at a nearby closed landfill. The energy is generated and distributed at the area’s very own New Energy power plant, where micro-turbines convert the biogas into electricity and heat. 9
From coal to biomass Next to the co-generation power plant of electricity and district heat in Vaskiluoto, you will find the first large-scale biomass gasification plant in the world. Thanks to this, coal can be replaced by domestic low-emission biofuels. The biomass gasification plant mainly uses wood chips for fuel. The gasificator converts the wood chips to biogas, which is burned in a coal boiler.
Through fuel acquisition, the regional economy is boosted by approximately MEUR 15 annually. Previously, the funds went to buying coal and carbon dioxide emission rights. Thanks to the biomass gasification plant, up to 40% of the coal can be replaced with renewable biofuels. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by approximately 230,000 tonnes a year.
Waste produces energy for the entire region
In the Vaasa region, we also produce energy from waste. Westenergy’s modern waste incineration plant efficiently transforms the energy contained by unrecyclable waste to energy – safely and emission-free. The Westenergy plant can cover more than a third of the demand for district heat in Vaasa.
Together, the Westenergy waste incineration plant and the Vaskiluoto power plant’s conversion to biomass reduced the carbon dioxide emissions produced in Finland by 1%. This achievement was awarded as the Climate Act of the year in 2012. The use of waste to generate district heat and electricity replaces fossil fuels, and reduces the carbon dioxide emissions in the Vaasa region by up to 200,000 tonnes a year. When the amount of waste disposed of at the landfill is reduced, so are the methane gas emissions, which are 20 times as harmful to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Thanks to the Vaasa Energy Turnabout project of Vaskiluodon Voima, Westenergy and Vaasan Sähkö, the carbon dioxide emissions in energy production will be reduced by 425,000 tonnes annually, which translates as nearly one percent of the CO2 emissions produced in Finland. 10
Energy efficient public transport
New energy solutions for Kvarken
Vaasa’s target to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase regional energy self-sufficiency also includes public transport. The City of Vaasa and Stormossen have signed a contract regarding the delivery of biogas for 12 new buses, which will run on the gas. Stormossen is the first biogas plant in Finland, independent of the natural gas network, which refines methane gas for car fuel from biowaste and water treatment sludge.
Stormossen began the gasification of household waste as early as the 80s. Before then, there was only one similar plant in all of Europe. The biogas plant creates jobs and income for local businesses, the money spent on fuel stays in the city and buses run with reduced emissions and lower noise levels than before. The annual production of methane gas at the Stormossen biogas plant corresponds to 1,500,000 litres of diesel. The first methane gas station in Vaasa will be opened in the summer of 2016. To begin with, the fuel will cover the needs of the buses and approximately 1,000 private cars.
The maritime route across the Kvarken is operated all year round and is an important link in the transport chain between Finland and Sweden. The route connects to three major roads classified by the UNECE as European roads of strategic importance (E12, E4 and E8), as well as the Bothnian Corridor. The ferry service is maintained by NLC Ferry Ab, also known as Wasaline, a company owned jointly by the cities of Vaasa and UmeĂĽ.
The new ropax ferry will run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), a nearly emission-free source of energy. Both cities have committed themselves to the Midway Alignment project, the objective of which is to improve the transport route along the Bothnian Corridor and the connectivity between the existing multimodal TEN-T transport systems, which already create synergy effects between different modes of transport (by sea, road, railroad). The project promotes the development of logistic structures and the acquisition of a new vessel optimized for the route. By means of new technology and innovative materials, a lightweight, energy efficient vessel which can operate in ice conditions can be constructed. Thanks to the use of alternative fuels, the environmental impact of the vessel is minimized. 11
Water treatment a link in the energy chain
Energy blowing in the wind
The Pått water treatment plant in Vaasa is located close to Vaasa city centre. The plant treats the waste water of Vaasa and some of the waste water from the neighbouring municipalities, Korsholm and Malax. The treatment process is based on biochemically activated sludge. The dried sludge is transported to the Stormossen waste treatment plant for biological treatment. From the sludge, an annual 800,000 m3 of biogas is produced, part of which is used by Stormossen for its own operations.
In 2014, approximately 800 GWh of electricity was generated by means of wind power in Finland. The wind conditions in Ostrobothnia are among the best in Finland, and even further inland there is plenty of room for wind power plants. The wind power plants of EPV Tuulivoima Oy in Vähäkyrö, which started spinning in the spring of 2015, increased the wind power generation in Finland significantly. The electricity generation of the 16 wind power turbines in the Torkkola wind power farm amounts to approximately 150,000 MWh a year, depending on the wind.
The wind in Torkkola generates enough energy to cover the needs of nearly 10,000 electrically heated private houses.
The Pått water treatment plant is located in the city, only 50 metres away from the nearest apartment house. This makes nearly emission-free treatment of waste water necessary. At the Pått water treatment plant, heat energy is recovered from the treated waste water before it is released into the sea. The heat is used as district heat, which reduces the costs of heating, but also the temperature load on the ecosystem significantly. 12
Innovations for electricity transmission and distribution Solutions for electricity transmission and distribution not only aim at safety and stability, but also at creating new, flexible models for connecting small-scale, decentralized energy generation to the grid.
In 2014, Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, awarded the Sundom Smart Grid project the INKA Innovative Cities programme prize. In the village of Sundom, Vaasan SähkÜ, ABB, Anvia, Merinova Technology Centre and the University of Vaasa are constructing a smart grid demonstration and research base for the use of companies and the university. The purpose of the project is to pilot a new technology, which the participating companies wish to aim at the global market. The target of the Smart Grid pilot project is to improve the reliability of electricity distribution and create the prerequisites for utilizing wind and solar energy in the region’s households. 13
BUILDING THE FUTURE The versatile educational opportunities, and the investments in research and product development made by both companies and the public sector, ensure that the energy technology expertise in Vaasa will remain at the cutting edge of development also in the future. In Vaasa, energy education includes all stages from primary education to university studies. In Vaasa, the energy path towards success starts in day care. The City’s Education and Cultural Services department has drawn up an Energy education strategy, which focuses on openness and doing things together. The campus in Palosaari has grown into a growthgenerating meeting place for top experts and a common 14
operating environment for universities, companies and development organizations. In addition to the educational institutes, the campus is home to the technology research facility Technobothnia, which is maintained by the university and the universities of applied sciences. Nearby, a unique product development, research and education lab for the University of Vaasa is being planned – the Energy Research Center. In the new laboratory, the educational institutes will collaborate extensively with the industry. The purpose is to research, among other things, engine technology related to biofuels, and wind and geothermal energy. Technology experts have been educated in Vaasa since 1849.
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