New energy for growing communities

Transcription

Almere
Milton Keynes
Ajaccio
Viladecans
Read how leading EU
municipalities made a
significant step towards
zero-carbon urban
communities in turbulent
economic times.
The cRRescendo sustainable building project
Emil ter Horst, Caspar Noach, Leendert Verhoef and Vera Haaksma
Almere
Milton Keynes
Ajaccio
Viladecans
2
Almere
Milton Keynes
Ajaccio
Viladecans
ISBN 9789082257601 | Horisun, Utrecht
Download: www.cRRescendo.net or www.horisun.com
EC CONCERTO
programme
cRRescendo is the largest sustainable building project,
that has been supported by the CONCERTO programme
of the European Union.
In a fast moving and developing modern world, energy
is a core factor of our daily life. We have become
dependent on the availability of energy, which has to
be produced in a sustainable and efficient manner.
The CONCERTO programme has supported local
communities in demonstrating actions that are both
sustainable and energy efficient. Increasing the use
of renewable energy sources and promoting energy
efficiency is not an easy task. The CONCERTO projects
aim to demonstrate the breakthroughs that can
be achieved by a fully integrated approach in high
performing communities.
The goals of CONCERTO (2005, 2007, 2010) were to
inspire an innovative energy policy on a European
level and to contribute towards creating an energy
independent Europe based on a vision of environmental,
social and economic sustainability. Now (2014) the
Smart Cities & Communities calls within Europe’s new
HORIZON2020 programme succeed the successful
CONCERTO programme. Having a closer look though
at the cRRescendo projects especially in Almere and
Milton Keynes, we see that CONCERTO has indeed
inspired these cities to compose the prelude to such a
smart city.
The municipalities Almere, Milton Keynes, Ajaccio and
Viladecans together with their partners and observers
completed these large, new, complex projects. These
municipalities reached new milestones and fulfilled
their ambitions in fantastic new or refurbished urban
environments. The results and lessons learned are
available to be shared with you. You are welcome to visit
Disclaimer:
“The European Commission support for the production of this
publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents
which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.”
our CONCERTO communities.
Emil ter Horst,
Horisun
Coordinator cRRescendo
4
cRRescendo
Recommendation
It is a pleasure for me to recommend this book to you.
During the project already to the observer cities
The European cRRescendo project and the lessons
Misterbianco, Sofia and San de Senart, but now the
learnt described in this book are close to my heart.
results are shared with all European cities.
Just as in my own sustainable building experience I
I came to Almere 10 years ago.
was happy to learn so much from others who did the
Before that time I lived for a long time in Friesland,
same job before us, in the same way I am sure the
where I fell in love with the typical Dutch panoramic
lessons learnt in cRRescendo will pave the way for other
flat and wet pastures. Here in the province of Flevoland
European cities, north, south, east or west.
I experience the same feeling for this polder landscape.
Annemarie Jorritsma,
Mayor of the city of Almere.
President of the association
of Netherlands municipalities
(VNG).
President of the Council of
European Municipalities and
Regions (CEMR)
With views reaching to the horizon. Here in Almere my
As Mayor I can tell you that though the cRRescendo
family and I built our own sustainable dream house.
project formally has ended, it lives on in our cities. The
Almere is a new-town handmade by pioneers in the new
ideas have been embedded in our local policies, while
polder of Flevoland just decades ago. As a spin-off we
new projects in all four cities are on the way exceeding
saw Europe’s youngest nature reserve emerge just in the
the high ambitions of cRRescendo, sometimes even
shadow of Almere: the Oostvaardersplassen, sometimes
by far. The concept of a smart sustainable city is
nicknamed as the “Serengeti behind the dikes”.
unstoppable.
In Almere en Flevoland one can have the best of
In Almere the cRRescendo “icon” demonstrations
two worlds. You can live in the countryside near the
showed our citizens the road towards a zero-energy
city or you can live in the city near the countryside.
city in 2025. Under the heading Growing Green Cities,
cRRescendo has shown us now clearly that a smart
this “green” road may now be even accelerated by the
sustainable city needs this countryside (that my city
Floriade, hosted by Almere in 2022.
is blessed with) in order to achieve the future goal of a
zero-energy community.
And finally, if you enjoyed the book, feel free to visit us:
the surprising near-carbon-free socially sustainable
As president of the Council of European Municipalities
Almere Columbuskwartier, the pleasant low-carbon
and Regions I am proud that in the cRRescendo project
Vizion building in Milton Keynes, the sturdy energy-
Almere and her twin city Milton Keynes, the Catalan
positive community center in Ajaccio or the inspiring
new-town Viladecans and the beautiful capital of
smart school in Viladecans. They have been visited
Corsica, Ajaccio, were the founding fathers of this
by many people and delegations already but are still
important project. But I am even more pleased by the
waiting for you.
dissemination that is taken so serious in the project.
Left: Dissemination is taken
serious in cRRescendo
Right: Icon projects such as the
future Floriade will pave the way
for a zero-energy smart Almere
in 2022
new energy for growing communities
5
6
cRRescendo
Preface
mountain of information and a sea of deliverables.
This book will guide you through all aspects of the
development and the results of Europe’s largest urban
sustainable building project.
The cRRescendo project is about the sustainable
building of 3,290 houses, 75,093 square meters of public
You can experience the content on three levels. The first
and commercial buildings, 1,099 kWp solar PV panels,
level and main structure concerns the chapters on the 4
8,337 square meters of solar hot water collectors in four
cities: the design, implementation and users’ experience
European cities and last-but-not-least carbon-saving
of eco-buildings and low-carbon power plants. The
district-heating systems installed in two cities. There
second level on spread pages in-between the chapters
was an overall carbon saving by cRRescendo of almost
will guide you through overlapping themes such as the
30%, while this percentage more than doubles when the
research, training and dissemination. The third level
effect of the district-heating in Almere is included.
addresses general lessons or specific quotes and tips of
The project shows how the Municipalities Almere (NL),
key staff in doing their job. You will find these echoes of
Milton Keynes (UK), Ajaccio (Corsica, FR) and Viladecans
10 years’ co-operation often in the margin or indicated
(ES) have made a significant step towards zero-carbon
with an exclamation mark. [!]
communities in turbulent economic times.
We believe, to remain in the imagery of the CONCERTO
These cities overcame the bureaucratic hurdles,
programme, that the achievements by cRRescendo
introduced modern low carbon energy production
form a nice symphony. We invite you to play along with
technologies and set new energy-saving standards
the song lines in the book. Absorb the useful lessons
for the built environment. They worked with vision,
and the tools you deem fit, combine them with your
ambition, perseverance, know-how, and bravery. They
own tunes, and become even more sustainable than the
woke up the building industry. The cRRescendo project
cRRescendo project.
also demonstrates how best to meet the citizens’ wishes
of living in comfortable, energy efficient homes in a
Emil ter Horst, Caspar Noach, Leendert Verhoef and
healthy and clean environment.
Vera Haaksma (clock wise)
Despite concessions to the original ambition (due to the
recession) the project kept its promise to pave the way
towards a complete sustainable city after 2020.
Developing new and innovative neighbourhoods at this
scale is a local challenge of international importance,
and therefore supported by the European CONCERTO
programme.
The results are both visible and embedded in the
local community: in paradigm changing iconic
urban developments and game changing new ways
of producing energy; in lasting changes among
stakeholders in the building sector and integral
sustainable policies in our cities. But above all inspiring
urban environments have been built, while new projects
underway have surpassed even our ambitions.
It was an adventure for us to unravel impacts and
success factors. It was hard work to filter through the
project management system, with all the changes in
contracts, objectives, and people. And then there was a
7
3
Prelude
EC CONCERTO Program
Recommendation Preface Bridging the recession - cRRescendo summary
04
05
07
10
Sustainable renovation
Ajaccio
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
1
Towards zero carbon city
Almere
Ajaccio – the scene
A suite of projects
Performance – occupant behaviour
Moving forward
Frame: Economics needs Replication
1.1 Almere – a New Town
1.2 Opportunity for sustainability
— Sustainability: a matter of “Principles”
1.3Mobilising civil servants, stakeholders and inhabitants
1.4Almere Solar Island for a low-carbon district heating
1.5A solar PV power plant dispersed over Columbuskwartier
— The certification scheme “Solar House”
1.6Ecohouses and private commissioning in Noorderplassen West
1.7Research on sustainability
1.8 Towards smart energy-neutral in 2025
14
15
16
17
20
22
23
26
26
28
Frame: From observer to doer
30
48
50
54
55
58
2
The power of heat
Milton Keynes
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
Milton Keynes – the scene
A suite of sustainable projects
Vizion – iconic building as an urban landscape
Office of tomorrow - The Pinnacle
Combined heat and power generation
PV power plant on former bus station
Moving forward
32
33
35
36
39
42
44
Frame: Sharing local learnings
46
4
Paving the way
Viladecans
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Viladecans – the scene
Delivering eco-buildings
Solar energy in Viladecans
Overcoming barriers – stepping forward
62
64
67
69
6
Results, lessons and recommendations
Frame: Checking the ambition
71
5
The discovery of a sustainable community
Columbuskwartier
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
—
A learning history
The district Almere Poort
From simple idea to detailed plan
Getting a grip on sustainability
Managing Columbus’ egg
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5 6.6 Four cRRescendo cities
Diversity of projects in the different communities
EU policy lessons Local policy and project level lessons The building sector lessons Bridging recessions
Annexes
74
75
76
78
81
Annex I
Realised cRRescendo projects
92
Annex II
People behind the projects
98
designing
building
Annex III
Solar potential in Europe
connecting
100
inspiring
giving
Frame: Empowering the community
82
learning
84
86
87
88
89
90
0
2000
Dawn of the solar age
2003
Bridging the recession
cRRescendo summary
A turbulent decade: 2003-2012
to be cautious in Europe. Nevertheless, first realizations
CO2-neutral Sun City in
Heerhugowaard: precursor to
CONCERTO and cRRescendo.
in Almere and Milton Keynes had started.
2004
The preparation of the cRRescendo project started in
Through 2008 cRRescendo developments continued
2003. It was not the most ambitious project when it was
in all four cities. In Almere many eco-houses had been
accepted in CONCERTO. But it promised to be impactful,
delivered and the building of Solar Houses had started.
not only due to its size, but also due to the ambitious
In Milton Keynes the CHP had been realized. In Ajaccio
smaller projects inside the project: the so-called
the renovation of houses was delayed. In Viladecans
icons of sustainability. cRRescendo was embedded
the Daycare Centre was at the last stage of realization.
The German Feed-in Tariff
boosts the PV market to a global
cumulative installed capacity
just above 1 GWp.
The price for PV modules is
3€/Wp. China starts first PV
mass production.
in a completely new kind of policy, an integral way of
The building of houses in Viladecans was delayed and it
looking at sustainability. Policy inspired by the cradle-
became clear that the recession had arrived in Europe,
to-cradle ideas.
especially in Spain.
Now, a decade later cRRescendo turned out to be
At the end of 2008, the housing market crisis had a
recession-proof, being one of the CONCERTO projects
deeper impact on the demos in UK than previously
with substantial impact.
thought. Since then the housing crisis became a global
financial crisis, with substantial consequences for
cRRescendo is led by 4 main cities with 11 local partners.
cRRescendo, especially in Milton Keynes and Viladecans.
The cities of Milton-Keynes (England, UK), Viladecans
It was promising that the urban development in Almere
(Catalonia, Spain) and Almere (Netherlands) are sub-
and renovation activities in Ajaccio nevertheless had
metropolitan New Towns while Ajaccio is the historical
continued as planned. In Almere the recession simply
capital of Corsica (France). There were three so-called
arrived later.
2005
started in 2005 and co-funded
over € 175 Million to 58 cities in
22 projects in 23 countries.
2006
4 €/Wp
observer cities, Misterbianco (Sicily, Italy), Sofia
(Bulgaria) and San-de Senart (France), entitled to learn
cRRescendo convinced “Brussels” that only with a
from the results.
substantial amendment was it still possible to realize
The cities are nicely dispersed over Europe, with
the original ambitions, while a prolongation of the
similarities and differences.
project was accepted to accommodate this. Alternative
demonstrations have been developed in the cities to
In the beginning the project was well on track, but in
compensate for the possible loss of ambition in the
2007 it became clear that the crisis in the American
original project.
mortgage market was also causing project developers
The world changed quite a bit from 2003-2012, with
10
2
0
2000
2006
2012
With 75% of the PV Market in
Europe (heavily subsidized) the
price does not go down enough
in 2006, while cheap production
in China is attracted.
cRRescendo
the mortgage crisis, financial crisis and real estate
private dwellings have PV systems, but the major solar
crisis followed by economic downturn. However due to
contribution is achieved by the Almere Solar Island
the re-scoping cRRescendo could be still successfully
(opened June 2010).
Europe
realised with the same overall high ambition.
For the first time homes in the Netherlands are heated
China
2007
Japan
collectively with locally-generated solar energy. The
In that same decade we also saw enormous
Almere Solar Island is an icon in the Almere landscape.
technological changes: in energy efficiency measures, in
The way the island works is simple: water in the solar
renewable energy especially PV solar energy technology,
collectors is heated by the sun. The heated water is
while last but not least the concept of smarting the
pumped directly into the low-carbon district heating
energy grid and smarting the city gained a foothold.
network that supplies heating and hot tap water to the
It was not possible to sail through these times and at
residential district Noorderplassen West. The Almere
the same time contribute to those needed changes
Solar Island is the fourth largest solar collector field in
to the max. As the sky was not the limit anymore,
the world.
the larger demonstrations were carried out realistic
Europe was leading the global
PV production (4GWp) only in
2007.
The IPCC and Al Gore have
jointly won the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize.
2008
ambitious, while the project’s overall ambition was
In the second cRRescendo district, Columbuskwartier,
kept high or even higher in smaller icon projects. As the
about 500 solar houses and 103 passive houses have
price of PV solar energy was reduced drastically, this
been built. On these and other houses and buildings
promising technology for the built environment could
in the district a total of 600 kWp PV panels have been
be kept easily “on-board”, while the concept of a smart
installed.
community could not be adopted overnight, but will be
In realising its ambitious objectives, the heat for the
explored in the decade beyond the project (2013-2022).
1,000 homes of Columbuskwartier comes from the
Diemen “Combined Heat and Power” (CHP) plant on
the other side of lake IJmeer. The connection of all
4 cRRescendo communities
Rest World
dwellings and buildings of the spanning district Poort
to the district heating system is fed by this CHP system.
Now, at the end of cRRescendo 10,000 people live in
A new pipeline connection from the “Diemen” plant
modern, comfortable, healthy and energy efficient
goes through the IJ-lake to Almere. The overall energy
homes due to the well-orchestrated sustainable
supply is obtaining a 93% CO2 reduction not only for
developments of the metropolitan areas of Almere,
Columbuskwartier but for the whole Poort district. In
Milton Keynes, Ajaccio and Viladecans.
support of that the energy company NUON is required
In Almere Columbuskwartier
first houses are completed.
The U.S. Mortgage Crisis
becomes a international
financial crisis and is followed
by a EU house-building crisis
especially in Spain and the UK.
The huge world PV market share
in Spain collapsed from 41% in
2008 to 1% in 2009.
2009
to deliver only green electricity in the Poort district.
In Almere (NL) two “Energy Rich” districts are part of
the cRRescendo project. In Almere the total reduction
Milton Keynes (UK) is centrally located in the UK, 70
in conventional energy consumption is 31%, in which
miles North West of London. In Milton Keynes the total
the high carbon reduction due to cogeneration in both
reduction in conventional energy consumption is 30%,
communities and green electricity in Columbuskwartier
in which the reduction due to the CHP is included (the
is NOT included.
share linked to cRRescendo buildings).
About 2000 new dwellings have been built in three
The local programme, where a holistic approach to
“Energy Rich” classes:
urban design has been adopted, includes four separate
-eco-houses, built at least 10% more energy efficient
developments:
than the building standard;
-solar houses, with an energy performance 25% better
than standard;
-passive houses, having an energy performance 50%
better than standard.
2010
-Combined Heat and Power (CHP) with private wire
network;
-Enhanced building fabric in a residential and a nonresidential building;
-A large 165 kWp Photovoltaics (PV) system.
Most cRRescendo dwellings in the district
A successful component of the Milton Keynes project
Noorderplassen West are eco-houses. In this area some
has been the delivery of the CHP engine, connecting via
bridging the recession
Completion of the Pinnacle
office and Vizion residential
buildings in Milton Keynes
Completion of the two Almere
communities and the Solar
Island.
11
a private wire network up to many buildings in the city
compliance with High Environmental Quality Standards
centre. In 2012, the BREEAM “Excellent” rated Network
(HQE, France), aiming at “zero” energy consumption, or
Rail Headquarters “Quadrant” development, comprising
even better as for the (to be built) “Maison de quartier
Europe
38,000 sq.m. connected to the CHP system in Central
des Cannes”, a positive energy building, producing more
China
Milton Keynes. This expansion is a good indicator of the
electricity than what it will use.
Japan
confidence now being shown in the ability of the CHP to
At the same time, taking advantage of the National
deliver cost effective heat and power.
Programme for Urban Renewal (since 2007), social
The Vizion complex is a high quality vertical mixed-
landlords were able to rehabilitate an ageing housing
use development, which is loved by residents. The
stock by undergoing money saving and energy saving/
development (2009) contains 441 apartments and
producing building improvements.
townhouses but also includes a large Sainsbury’s store
The refurbishment of social (rented) housing stock
of approximately 10,000 m²and another 4,100 m2
(419 apartments) was the key element of cRRescendo’s
commercial and retail units. The enhanced building
activities in Ajaccio. Also a surface of 346 m2 of solar
fabric was applied to raise the standard of the building
collectors has been installed on social housing buildings
and its thermal characteristics far beyond national
and will produce hot water for 223 apartments. In the
standards. Heat, cooling and electricity are supplied by
Ajaccio demonstrations the reduction in conventional
the above CHP system.
energy consumption is about 20%.
The same applies to the Pinnacle, a high-quality
Viladecans (ES) is a coastal community, located 12
office with an element of mixed-use. The building is
kilometres from Barcelona.
performing well for the occupants. It is the first BREEAM
In the frame of cRRescendo, due to the recession only
“Excellent” rated office development in Milton Keynes
five public buildings have been built or refurbished (day
and a winner of an Office Development Award for
care centre, youth cultural centre, historical cultural
Sustainable Achievement. The Pinnacle accommodates
centre, sports building and municipal building).
three commercial offices and several smaller retail
The city is committed to reducing CO2 emissions,
units, with over 19,000-m2 commercial space.
elaborated in 1996 the Agenda 21 and joined in 1997
Finally, the former bus station was settled on as the
“Barcelona network of towns towards sustainability”.
most appropriate site for the PV installation. In total,
In addition, Viladecans has signed the Declaration of
825 panels, made of polycrystalline silicon, were
Vilafranca on preventing climate change in 2005. This
installed on the roof. The installation had to respect
initiative is covering the whole Barcelona province.
the architectural integrity of the existing building. As
Finally, Viladecans has signed its adhesion to the
a consequence, the PV arrays have been installed at an
Covenant of Mayors in 2008. The Viladecans’ Council is
angle of 5°. The electricity produced is delivered free of
elaborating its Action Plan for Sustainable Energy that
charge to a youth community interest company which
contains 143 specific actions for this purpose.
uses the building.
In the coming years, the municipality will finalise the
2011
Rest World
The price of PV is 1€/Wp.
Global PV production is 35
GWp/year.
China leading solar producing
country.
2012
Europe
China
US
Rest World
Total cumulative installed PV
solar capacity is just above 100
GWp with 70% in Europe.
2013
Start of Horizon2020 /
Smart Cities & communities
programme to prepare smart
zero-energy urban communities
in 2020 and beyond.
installation of 1 MW of photovoltaic panels in the city
2014
By the end of 2003, the community of Ajaccio (Corsica,
(up to 342 kW of them are part of cRRescendo project)
FR) decided to answer the call for projects of the
and (as soon as the recession is over) will build 2.000
“CONCERTO” programme. Until then the city had little
new dwellings in a new eco-district called Llevant.
Since the recession in Europe
has slowed down the building
of houses, we see in so many
cities a latent wish or need for
sustainable projects, but more
integral than ever before. The
future city must not be only
carbon-neutral, but also smart
and social. The pipeline is full
and the political will is there.
Energy and ICT technologies to
realize a smart zero-energy city
are becoming very affordable.
E.g. the price of PV has fallen
in one decade by a factor of 8.
There are promising years to
come.
awareness for the environmental approach, but this
changed with the cRRescendo contract in August 2005.
It is from this date that Ajaccio’s understanding and
involvement grew towards more conscious politics on
the environmental issue. Ajaccio became more aware of
cRRescendo, with the full project title “Combined
the need to reduce public energy consumption as well as
Rational and Renewable Energy Strategies in Cities, for
the energy use of social buildings tenants.
Existing and New Dwellings to ensure Optimal quality
Public buildings like schools, which are part of the urban
of life”, has been carried out very successfully, despite
renewal project in priority areas, are henceforth built in
the crisis and thanks to the perseverance of the four
12
cRRescendo
cities and flexibility of the CONCERTO programme
Viladecans was forced to focus on training, education
management.
and showcasing sustainable community buildings and
2015
PV solar energy. Despite the recession a strong policy
The main impact of cRRescendo is that it paved the
back up remained; there is a latency of projects as soon
way in all four cities to make a transition towards a
as the economy recovers. Also Viladecans benefits from
smart zero-energy society within the coming decade.
the lessons learned in cRRescendo especially for the
We showed that cross -Europe learning works well
future ambitious eco-district Llevant.
for both the main cities and the observer cities, if well
orchestrated. We also have to accept that the solutions
As aimed, cRRescendo integrates a major share of
for different parts of Europe often differ from each other
sustainability into over 3,150 new and existing homes
or at least need a local “translation”.
and their energy infrastructure in order to demonstrate
the possibility, feasibility and most importantly to
During the project a strong political wind arose in
meet the citizens’ wish to live in a comfortable energy
Almere to adopt an integral (ecological and socio-
efficient home in a healthy and clean environment.
economical) sustainability policy, leading to a smart
The cooperation between the cities within the
zero-carbon city in 2025 or earlier. To do so things
EU CONCERTO programme not only showcases
need to change quickly, all while trying to maintain
the successful integration of poly-generation and
citizen and potential stakeholder involvement. The
renewable energy into a large number of ecobuildings,
disadvantage that the cRRescendo project was
but also provides the tools for a successful reprise in
easily overtaken by future developments has been
these towns, the observer communities and many other
compensated by high-ambition icon inner projects. The
cities in Europe, in an ever swelling cRRescendo.
combination of this and the larger scale of cRRescendo
But the outreach goes beyond that. The project as a
as a whole give maximum impact for replication. The
whole has withstood the building crisis of 2008-”10
large number of visitors from all across Europe and
because the recession impacted the four cities very
beyond confirms that this idea has worked well.
differently.
Planned completion of the
Maison de quartier des Cannes
in Ajaccio. This community
building will produce more
energy than it will use: with a
solar roof, an urban windturbine
and more.
2018
PV solar will be the cheapest
source of electricity in the world.
The annual PV production will
be above 300 GWp while the
price of produced energy will be
lower than €0.05/kWh.
SolarGIS © 2013 GeoModel Solar ›
2020
Milton Keynes eventually realized large ambitious but
realistic projects, with low-energy buildings and a
cRRescendo showed that it was still possible to do in
paradigm changing Combined Heat Power plant (CHP),
the middle of the crisis a substantial step in energy
that are easy to replicate on short-term. Due to the
reduction: with energy efficiency & renewable energy
recession the ambition was downsized, leading to a
… in new & renovated districts … in growing &
hesitation by the founding fathers to showcase the
modern communities … and in north & south Europe.
results. But the economic cases were so strong that
It is now convincingly prooved that a zero-carbon
(also due to the co-operation the private sector) the
community is possible anywhere in Europe in 2020, as
impact of a strong replication throughout the UK is
this is simply just one step away from cRRescendo.
easily shown anyway.
signatories
aim to meet
and exceed the
European Union
20% CO2 reduction objective
by 2020. Viladecans, Milton
Keynes and Almere are part of the
5,883 signatories representing
189,148,547 inhabitants (2014).
A huge statement by the EU cities
& citizens !!!
2022
Ajaccio could benefit from the lessons learned in the
project but also from other French cities in other
The demonstrations are described in further detail in
CONCERTO projects. Renovation is firstly tackled,
the following chapters, while spread pages in-between
while Ajaccio jumped on the train of sustainability. For
chapters will guide you through the extensive research,
Ajaccio the time was just right (increasing sustainability
training and dissemination.
standards, conjuncture, politics and house markets
in France). The main impact on Corsica is the growing
This chapter “0” continues with a summary of results
drive from lagging behind on sustainability to being
and lessons learned in chapter 6 (page 84)
there at the very forefront in France.
Almere stands for “Growing
Green Cities” and wants to be a
zero-energy city in the year of
the Floriade World Expo.
2025
Every city & community to be
‘smart’ & energy-neutral as soon
as posible!
bridging the recession
13
1
1.1
Almere – a New Town
1.2 Opportunity for sustainability
— Sustainability: a matter of “Principles”
1.3Mobilising civil servants, stakeholders and inhabitants
1.4Almere Solar Island for a low-carbon district heating
1.5A solar PV power plant dispersed over Columbuskwartier
— The certification scheme “Solar House”
1.6Ecohouses and private commissioning in Noorderplassen West
1.7Research on sustainability
1.8 Towards smart energy-neutral in 2025
Towards a zero carbon city
Almere
1.1
Almere – a New Town
committed itself to sustainable development. For
example: the majority of homes in Almere were already
District Noorderplassen West
with the Almere Solar Island
Almere, a New Town with over 190,000 inhabitants,
connected to district heating since the beginning. In
situated east of Amsterdam, is expected to grow to
2005, plans were made to build 2,700 new sustainable
350,000 in 2030. From its inception in 1975, the city
homes with accompanying schools, offices and stores in
the district Noorderplassen West and to build 1,000 new
sustainable homes and accompanying schools in the
community Columbuskwartier in district Almere Poort.
About 2,000 of these houses and buildings were
brought into the framework of the cRRescendo project.
A greener energy supply for the area needed to be
developed as well.
The planning of the projects was initiated in 1997 for
Noorderplassen West, and in 1998 for Almere Poort.
Plans needed to include an approach for the whole
energy infrastructure, which was done separately for
both districts.
Nieuw Flevolands Peil was an important initiative
helping to make the principles of sustainable
development more practical. It was a regional
14
“Almere saw its growth, typical for
a New Town, as an opportunity
to build with a high ambition
level. cRRescendo enabled Almere
to increase that ambition in the
developments in Noorderplassen
West and Columbuskwartier. The
idea was to accomplish these
ambitions on the scale of a large
urban development. We have
successfully built houses that are
either 1, 2 or 3 steps more energy
efficient than required by the
building code.“
Emil ter Horst, cRRescendo project
manager for Almere
public programme describing actions on
The Columbuskwartier was developed with an integral
sustainability for the province of Flevoland.
approach to sustainability. Besides energy savings
This grass root programme had a clear
in buildings the development addressed the public
influence on the ambitions of Almere in the
space and social aspects. Concurrently, the Dutch
beginning of the project.
energy agency (now www.RVO.nl) introduced a
certificate Zonnewoning (Solar House), which combines
sustainability and the indoor climate into practical,
1.2
Opportunity for sustainability
easy-to-use guidelines. Caspar Noach (Ecofys): “We learned
that combining the Solar House certificate with a tender for
One step better: in Noorderplassen West,
integral sustainability resulted in the most successful part of
the main goal was to reduce the energy
cRRescendo: The development of the southern part of the area
demand by 10% with simple interventions in
Columbuskwartier known as The Marvel (De Verwondering).
an otherwise conventional way of building
However we also learned that the certificate was hardly known
without higher costs. However, the energy
among the house owners.”
supply had to have 50% lower carbon
emissions than a conventional new-built
The municipality of Almere anchored these ambitions
district.
in legally binding, mutual agreements. Because
ambitions cannot be forced on project developers, a
Two steps better: in the South of
good anticipation for what level of ambition would
Columbuskwartier, the goal was to realise
be acceptable, was of key importance. The high tide
an integral sustainable neighbourhood. Not
of continued (inter)national economic growth and
only from an environmental point of view,
booming house markets in 2000-2005 allowed for
but sustainable in many other ways. An
setting the ambitions high. And the builders, keen to
important goal for Columbuskwartier was to
win the contract, set them even higher.
reduce the energy demand of the houses
by more than 20% and to reduce the overall carbon
emissions by over 90%, in a cost-effective way. The
extra investment costs had to be earned back with cost
reductions, mainly by lower energy bills.
Three steps better: over 100 (passive) houses in the
North of Columbuskwartier have an approximately
50% lower energy demand than normal. With that the
project shows the way to build sustainable houses in a
cost-effective way in the future.
Eco-houses in Noorderplassen
West
In both communities solar energy played an important
role.
The ambition level for buildings was set at 10%
energy savings in Noorderplassen West and 20%in
Columbuskwartier. In 2005 the urban development
process in Noorderplassen West was already rather
advanced, but a step of 10% was still achievable. The
Columbuskwartier however still had to be developed.
The project developers readily accepted the 20%
ambition, also because it was set relative to the familiar
Dutch national energy performance standard.
towards a zero carbon city
15
Sustainability: a matter of “Principles”
The intended growth of
Cover of the book The Almere
Principles
Almere in the coming
decades will take place
!
Agreements on content do not alter the
process of development. Sustainable
quality can only be achieved through
(personal) involvement. It is not about
enforcing, but all about alluring and
in an ecologically,
connecting. The key is to connect parties that amplify
socially and economically
each other.
sustainable fashion.
The aim of the national
government, the provincial
The Almere Principles
government of Flevoland
and the municipality
1. Cultivate diversity: To enrich the city, we acknowledge
Almere is to position
diversity as a defining characteristic of robust ecological,
Almere as a national
social and economic systems. By appraising and
laboratory for large-
stimulating diversity in all areas, we can ensure Almere
scale implementation of
will continue to grow and thrive as a city rich in variety.
sustainable systems.
The joint desire is to turn Almere into an icon of
2. Connect place and context: To connect the city
sustainability. This high ambition is reflected in the
we will strengthen and enhance its identity. Based on
winning bid for the organisation of the world famous
its own strength and on mutual benefit, the city will
Floriade 2022, and in policy goals such as to reach
maintain active relationships with its surrounding
climate and energy neutrality for the whole city in 2025.
communities at large.
!
Use tools to objectify sustainability
3. Combine city and nature: To give meaning to the city
contributes to make ambitions real and
we will consciously aim to bring about unique and lasting
comprehensible. These range from simple
combinations of the urban and natural fabric, and raise
checklists to clearly defined goals.
awareness of human interconnectedness with nature.
To inspire everyone who contributes to the future of
4. Anticipate change: To honour the evolution of the city
the city, local politicians defined the Almere Principles
we will incorporate generous flexibility and adaptability
together with Cradle-to-Cradle champion William
in our plans and programs, in order to facilitate
McDonough. The Almere Principles were developed
unpredictable opportunities for future generations.
parallel to the preparation and realisation of the
cRRescendo demonstrations in 2005-2008.
5. Continue innovation: To advance the city we will
encourage improved processes, technologies and
The ambition and mission behind the integral
infrastructures, and we will support experimentation
sustainable Columbuskwartier were based on the same
and the exchange of knowledge.
corner stones and thereby Columbuskwartier was the
first neighbourhood built completely according to
6. Design healthy systems: We will utilize Cradle to
the Almere Principles, even before they were formally
Cradle solutions, recognizing the interdependence, at all
accepted by the council. The numerous delegations
scales, of ecological, social and economic health.
from Netherlands, Europe and far abroad which visit the
16
neighbourhood prove that Columbuskwartier has given
7. Empower people to make the city: Acknowledging
us a good translation of the Almere Principles, showing
citizens to be the driving force in creating, keeping and
an interesting modern approach on how to realise an
sustaining the city, we facilitate them in pursuing their
integral sustainable urban concept into practice.
unique potential.
In parallel Almere’s ambitions on the policy level
to build on their own: there were simply no single
were also rising. In 2007 the minister of Environment
plots available. Adri Duivesteijn stipulated that 35% of
imposed the condition that if Almere wanted to grow,
the houses to be built should be allocated to private
it had to do so in a sustainable way. This resulted in a
commissioning.
covenant between Almere and the national government
(Schaalsprong Almere). For the municipality Almere
During the first three years, communication was
this also led to the launch of the Almere Principles,
mainly an internal process directed at the most relevant
advertised by Alderman Adri Duivesteijn.
stakeholders in the urban development. Though the
objectives of the project were described very well
in the project proposal, development of a large new
1.3Mobilising civil servants, stakeholders
and inhabitants
housing area takes over a decade from initiative until
commissioning. Once the development started and is
picking up speed, it is hard to stop or even change the
But it took time to learn how to make sustainability part
process. On the other hand a long running project must
of the planning routines in a fast growing city. Tools
provide space for new politics and changing realities.
had to be developed and civil service officers had to
Examples are the financial crisis of 2008 and the
change their role. At first the project was not optimally
recession since the start of the development.
embedded in the organisation to make use of its full
potential. Alex van Oost, senior staff member Sustainable
Communication with (future) inhabitants is difficult in
Building and Energy at the department responsible for
new districts, and was also missing in the beginning.
environmental policy: “At the beginning we were struggling to
Later on, the local environmental federation NMFF took
find a workable definition for sustainability, and how to make it
the responsibility for the communication together with
tangible. We lacked experience with an integral approach to the
the municipality. How to communicate and interact
complex definition of sustainability. What we were trying to do
with citizens is something a New town had to learn, also
had hardly been done on this scale before. We started to create a
because houses are actually built before people moved
context based on People, Planet and Prosperity. We determined
into the area. At first an “Explore Lab” platform was set up
specific goals and ambitions, and worked these out in a detailed
for inhabitants to express their wishes and expectations
sustainability matrix.
towards the architects and builders. This Explore Lab
evolved into the more successful platform “Sustainability
There were political changes as well. After a shift
Lab”, which focused on knowledge transfer to the project
in political power in 2006, the new alderman Adri
and to the employees of the municipality. More recently
Duivesteijn initiated a paradigm shift in the way of
it became DuurzaamAlmere.nl, a sustainability shop in
building. Conventionally, project developers would
the centre of Almere City where citizens, municipality
build in batches of ten to hundreds of houses in the
and local businesses can really meet. When the focus
Netherlands. For individual people, it was difficult
shifted to private commissioning the communication
towards the citizen improved a lot, also through the
Schools (both buildings and
education) were part of the
project. Opening of the Clock
House information centre for
children.
successful “Kavelwinkel”, a shop selling lots.
In the final project year the communication focus
shifted again. From mainly internal communication
to stakeholders and instructions for citizens to more
general dissemination to Almere, the Netherlands and
Europe. Almere Solar Island and the Columbuskwartier
houses in The Marvel have become well-known and
attract many visitors from Almere, and other cities in the
Netherlands. In addition professional groups from abroad
come to visit almost weekly.
17
Number of
Homes
Gross area
per house m2
Measures
Eco Apartment
84
91
High insulation,
EPC = 0.89
District heat
Eco House
1,462
176
High insulation,
EPC =0.89
district heat
Solar Apartment
48
137
High insulation,
EPC = 0.72
District heat
Solar House
116
171
High insulation,
EPC = 0.71
District heat
PV Systems on 3 Private Commissioning Houses
n.a.
n.a.
PV Panels
Noorderplassen West
1,710
Name/type
Total Solar
Overview cRRescendo measures
in residential buildings in
Almere
Noorderplassen West
9.9 kWp
9.9 kWp
Columbuskwartier
Eco Apartment
114
86
High insulation,
EPC = 0.8
District heat
Eco House
69
184
High insulation,
EPC = 0.8
District heat
Solar Apartment
83
89
PV panels
High insulation,
EPC = 0.62,
District heat
17 kWp
140
High insulation,
EPC = 0.6
PV panels on more than half
of the homes
District heat
325 kWp
108 kWp
6.7 kWp
Solar House
342
Passive house
103
105
PV panels
High insulation,
EPC = 0.38,
District heat
Carbon neutral house
1
225
PV panels
High insulation,
EPC = 0.03,
Urban wind turbines
Columbuskwartier
712
Total
2,422
18
All dwellings
457 kWp
271,786
466 kWp
Name/type
# functional units
Realised Gross m2
Measures
Solar
Day care centre
5
1,382
High insulation,
District heat
Health centre
22
9,344
High insulation,
District heat
Shopping centre
11
1,757
High insulation,
District heat
Primary school
3
6,996
High insulation. District
heat,
PV panels
47 kWp
PV on Sports
accommodation
1
n.a.
PV panels
45 kWp
Solar Island
1
n.a.
Solar collectors
7,800 m2
Noorderplassen West
38
12,483
Health centre
3
625
High insulation,
District heat
Office
1
45
High insulation,
District heat
Primary school
6
5,178
High insulation,
District heat
Sports accommodation
1
1,071
High insulation,
District heat
PV panels
44 kWp
5,135
High insulation,
District heat
PV panels
26 kWp
PV on “Klokhuis”
n.a.
PV panels
1.4 kWp
PV on secondary school
n.a.
PV panels
23 kWp
PV panels
37 kWp
Overview cRRescendo measures
in non residential buildings in
Almere
Noorderplassen West
92 kWp
7,800 m2
Columbuskwartier
International School
1
PV on Community Disposal
Centre
1
n.a.
Columbuskwartier
12
12,054
130 kWp
Total Non-residential
50
24,537
222 kWp
7,800 m2
19
Panorama of Almere Solar
Island (source: Panopictures.nl,
J.A. Prins, 2010)
1.4Almere Solar Island for a low-carbon
district heating
house by € 1,500. On top of the normal connection costs of
€ 3,500 that is quite a burden either for households or the
utility. The CONCERTO project could co-finance the Solar
Solar Island Noorderplassen West
Island, thus limiting the extra burden on households to a
District heating was already common practice in Almere
few hundred Euro (€ 427) per home. But a more sustainable
(40% lower carbon emissions than the reference). But in
energy supply should not become an excuse to build less
Noorderplassen West the municipality wanted to go one
efficient houses. Antonin van de Bree, building expert of Ecofys:
step further and reduce the CO2 emissions of the energy
“To avoid that the efficiency gain of the Solar Island would lead to
supply by an additional 10% (to 50%). The initial idea was
a lower insulation quality of the homes, its effect was excluded
to place a solar thermal system on individual homes
from the applied energy performance calculation method.”
by the utility. However, potential project developers
The additional ambition of a 10% lower energy demand
opposed the idea of roofs owned by a utility. Consequently
was enforced in one straight forward text line in every
centralized generation was considered and the Solar
developing contract for a specific site.
Island was born. The plan was a large ground-based solar
Solar Island commissioning and building
thermal energy system feeding its heat into the district
The building process of the Solar Island was delayed. Quite
heating system - not done anywhere else before. In 2003,
late in the design process, it was discovered that feeding
a location was found in the secondary space near the
the heat of the Solar Island into the city district heating
ring road: an area not usable for housing due to noise
did not fit, due to counter pressure of this system. A new
regulations. But the visibility to the public and thus the
design had to be made for the regulation system, with
potential exposure was excellent. This was to be the first
heavier pumps.
large-scale icon for sustainability in Almere.
Finally the Solar Island was put into operation, in June
Who should pay for this first-time innovation? The Solar
2010. It consists of 7,800 m2 gross area (7,135 m2 net area)
Island would increase the costs of district heating per
of solar collectors. It delivered approx. 8,700 GJ per year
to the district heating in Almere in 2010-2011. From a
Solar Island, installation of
(large surface) collectors
technical point of view this is very satisfactory: just above
specifications. From an economical point of view NUON
started with a financial loss. This was caused by a lower
amount of connections than anticipated in the business
case caused by delays in the building of houses due to the
financial crisis. The Solar Island has been replicated already
several times in Europe, clearly showing the economic
feasibility in general.
Emil ter Horst: “Meanwhile, the Solar Island has become an icon for
sustainability for Almere. It attracts visitors from all over the world,
because a solar heat installation connected to district heating is
unique. One advantage of the direct connection to district heating is
that all the solar heat produced can be utilised throughout the year.”
20
secondly, NUON implemented a flue gas heat recovery
system on the power plant, delivering 5 to 6 MW of
extra heat. Such a system can be added to an existing
The huge impressive red
Heat Transfer Station in
district Poort
plant without interruption of operation. The heat
recovery system proved financially beneficial as it
produces extra heat without extra energy/electricity
use. A new electric power plant (Diemen-34) has already
been constructed by NUON exploiting heat recovery
technology right from the start in 2012.
The final CO2-emission and renewable energy
performance goals for the energy supply in Almere
Poort contracted to NUON:
Long-distance district heating for Columbuskwartier
- 91% CO2-reduction with the supply of heat
- 100% CO2-reduction with the supply of electricity
Tender for the energy supply
In 1999 the energy supply of Almere Poort was tendered.
An important criterion was to achieve a 50% or more
reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a reference
scenario based on gas heating. NUON won the tender with
-Resulting in an average of 93% CO2-emission
reduction compared to the emission of equivalent
newly built houses in 2000
-10% of the total energy supply is to be generated by
renewable energy sources
an offer achieving a 93% CO2 reduction with a combination
of district heating, photovoltaics, and a biomass plant.
Consequently NUON was contracted to supply renewable
heat and green power to Almere Poort. The contract
Getting it done
specified the agreed performance levels but no specific
Planning and especially obtaining the environmental
technologies.
permits for the pipeline took a considerable amount of
time, because the trajectory runs through the IJmeer,
Change of plan
a lake area protected under the Natura 2000 law.
In 2005, NUON proposed to change technologies,
Construction started in 2011 and was completed in 2012
because they had become owner of the Diemen
with the commissioning of the impressive red “Heat
Power station. This is a large gas fired electric power
Transfer Station”. The sustainable district heating was
plant with excess heat used for district heating near
realised without cRRescendo funds. In March 2012 the
Amsterdam, and about 8 km away from Almere. A study
first heat was delivered in Almere.
had shown it was feasible to transport the excess heat
by a pipeline through the IJmeer lake to the districtheating network of Almere Poort. The municipality
endorsed this change, as Almere had gained insight
that a biomass plant in a living district might not be the
Pipeline trajectory Almere
Sustainable District Heating
coming from Amsterdam,
reaching the Heat Transfer
Station
best solution due to possible air pollution and increased
traffic of supply trucks.
Both parties agreed upon an addendum to the contract
safeguarding the CO2 reduction from the original offer
in two ways. First, NUON will buy green electricity
certificates equivalent to what the cancelled biomass
plant would have produced during 30 years. And
21
Solar Houses and beyond
1.5A solar PV power plant dispersed over
Columbuskwartier
In total almost 700 kWp of photovoltaic solar panels
were placed on approx. 500 houses and buildings in
the community. These buildings include the Passive
houses, the Solar Houses, a primary, secondary and
international school, two sports buildings and a waste
separation station. The systems were all architecturally
integrated in the houses but not always integrated in
Be careful with the use of a
certificate. In cRRescendo
some certificates were
hardly known among the
house owners, while the
certification process raise
the costs of a house.
the roofs.
The green electricity produced is connected behind the
meter, giving all profit to the owners and tenants of the
houses. NUON takes care of the maintenance of all PV
systems for the first ten years. Downside of this hassle-
and not separated into different blocks. During the
free commitment of NUON and Almere, is that citizens
building phase this proved to be beneficial for the
living below their sun roofs may not even notice their
overall energy-performance. TBI-Koopmans wanted
solar system and may be less involved than hoped for.
to make the design, building, and purchasing process
as uniform as possible. For instance; the same type of
Almere had two main reasons for (also) placing PV
glazing and insulation thickness was applied for both
systems on municipality-owned buildings in the
types of homes. As a result, 190 of the Eco-Houses had
community. First, Almere wanted to show it’s own
higher energy-performance than originally planned
commitment to sustainability to it’s citizens. Secondly,
and reached the ambition level of the 235 certified
Almere wanted to experiment with different concepts
Solar Houses. Finally a total of 580 houses were built,
of ownership, operation and maintenance.
of which 154 Eco-homes, 425 Solar Houses, and 1 CO2neutral house, all part of a socially and ecologically
The Solar House certificate had just been developed.
integrated urban design.
The municipality considered this certificate a robust
and manageable way to ensure their ambitions. Half of
Emil ter Horst: “The cRRescendo ambitions and timing fit well
the houses in Columbuskwartier would become Solar
with the realisation of the Columbus community. Attention
Houses. The others would be lower ambition) Eco-
has been paid to the energy consumption of the homes, but
houses.
also to the liveability of the public space. Sustainability of the
neighbourhood was addressed in a broader sense than ever
In 2004, a competition was launched to develop (the
before. A simple and beautiful example is that children can go
south part of) the Columbuskwartier with high energy
to school exclusively using roads not accessible to cars. Not only
ambitions and requirements on the sustainability
safe but also leaving parents with their cars at home and thus
of the neighbourhood. Close to 600 houses in
reducing collateral energy use. For me, The Marvel is the marble
Columbuskwartier were part of the tender.
in the Almere cRRescendo demonstration. But I would rather
let you discover that by listening to the people who should take
The southern wing: The Marvel
credit.”
The impressive showcase project The Marvel (Dutch:
De Verwondering) was realised by project developer
See Chapter 5 (page 74) where the making of
TBI-Koopmans, after they had won the tender for the
The Marvel is elucidated
joint development with the municipality of the area.
On the drawing board the certified Solar Houses (see
inset in this chapter) and Eco-houses were intermixed
22
The certification scheme “Solar House”
developers however posed that this would lead to high
additional costs and very high percentages of glass
The so-called Zonnewoning (Solar House) has played a
surface, because at least 33% of the gross heat demand
key role within The Marvel. It is a certification scheme
had to be provided through passive solar energy. An
for sustainable dwellings launched by the Dutch
Ecofys study showed that the amount was feasible by
energy agency in 2005. The scheme focused on integral
applying two simple steps:
sustainability while safeguarding a more comfortable
-Reducing the gross heat demand, automatically
interior climate. Special characteristics of a Solar House are:
rising the passive share towards the aimed 33%.
-Enlarging the glass surface using a higher G-value of
More energy efficient:
the glass (Solar Heat Gain), to increase the ability to
-An energy performance (EPC) 15% better than the legal
transmit the radiation of the sun.
standard.
-Two renewable energy measures (solar power, solar
heat, heat pump, bio energy, or passive solar energy).
The study shows results on the requirements for a Solar
House oriented south-east compared to a reference
More comfortable to live in:
house. It was concluded that a Solar House was feasible
-The orientation (south) and large windows ensure
by enlarging the glass surface by amounts that were
more daylight.
-The well aligned insulation and ventilation ensure a
healthy inner climate.
well manageable. Based on calculations made during
the discussion with the developers the additional costs
for a Solar House compared to a “standard house” were
More sustainable:
between €5000 and €6000 for a terraced house and
-The use of sustainable building materials, and FSC-
€3500 and €4500 for a semi-detached or corner house
certified wood.
-Special rules during the design to ensure the use of
sustainable techniques (besides materials).
(excluding the costs for the PV-system which was fully
paid for by NUON). The final payback period is very
dependent of the inhabitants use pattern, but varied
between 13 and 17 years.
For Almere the goal was to test whether this certificate
would work as an instrument to realise extra
The main additional measures are:
sustainability. Secondly the certificate could work as a
-Better insulation of roof (20%), walls (15%) and glazing
communication instrument between builder and
end-user, to guarantee the quality of the house.
(10%);
- A few extra square meters of glazing;
- Glazing with a G-value of 0.70;
Instructions for citizens
must be laid down in a easy
to understand manual
But where these two goals accomplished? The answer
- Sun screens (on when NW oriented);
is yes, and no. For the municipality the certificate
- A different ventilation system;
indeed offered an instrument that enabled them to
-Low-temperature heating (instead of the standard
plan and verify a higher ambition level. But the role of
high-temperature);
the certificate as a marketing instrument was simply
- A 930 Wp PV system.
not successful. In practice the certificate was not able
to distinguish itself enough for future house owners
from other not-certified products. For the construction
companies the certification led to a loss in flexibility and
extra costs. Currently the certification body is therefore
not actively promoting the certificate anymore.
Technical challenges:
Due to the fact that district heating is standard in
Almere only two realistic renewable measures energy
remained: solar panels and passive solar energy. Project
23
Solar energy plays a key role in
Columbuskwartier. These solar
PV panels are on the roof of
the Sports facility; with a nice
view on the Passive houses in
the upper right and the Heat
Transfer Station (red) in the
upper left.
The CO2- neutral house (Right).
Aerial view on the community
Columbuskwartier (south) with
the Almere ‘s most important
showcase The Marvel
(De Verwondering) during
building
24
Passive homes for the social
rental sector (with 1 kWp PV
solar panels per household on
the roof).
The northern wing: Passive houses
In the northern part of Columbuskwartier another
iconic showcase was born: an initiative to build 103
Passive Homes for the rental sector. These passive
houses were built by a joint development venture of
BAM Real Estate and Ballast Nedam. The development
was an initiative that had come up in parallel to
cRRescendo and was later embedded into cRRescendo.
The houses incorporate triple glazing, summer-night
ventilation shutters, very well insulated floors, walls
and roofs. The municipality of Almere and NUON
provided solar PV panels. Social Housing Corporation
De Goede Stede ordered and now rents out the homes.
had to be connected to district heating, due to the
They have been coaching the renters for energy-
contract between the municipality and utility NUON.
efficient and comfortable use of their homes.
For a passive house a costly obligation: substantial
connection costs but a very low heat consumption,
The sustainable measures to reach the ambition
which limits the earning back potential considerably.
level costed approximately € 20,000 extra per house,
excluding the costs for solar panels. Too costly to
In addition 38 Solar Houses and several Eco-houses were
put them on the market without financial support.
developed in this northern part of Columbuskwartier by
An additional difficulty in the rental market is that
the largest Dutch real estate developer Bouwfonds.
hardly any raise of rents for higher energy efficiency
is accepted by low-income households. This is a
See also page 58 for Case: Serial-built “Passive Houses” in
general problem in the social rental sector in the
the rental sector
Netherlands and in other EC countries, which has
lately gained attention. On top of that, the houses
Passive houses need a precise
and careful construction. Triple
HR glazing, extremely thick
insulation and many more
measures are standard.
25
1.6Ecohouses and private commissioning
Noorderplassen West
more energy in total, but have the same energy
performance per m2. As this type of commissioning
increases, this group needs extra attention. Almere
In Noorderplassen West, ground contracts with project
feared that it would be difficult to persuade people of
developers with requirements on extra sustainability
improving the energy efficiency of their own houses,
(10%) had already been drawn up by the time the
because building your own home requires people to pay
cRRescendo contract was final. Vera Haaksma (Ecofys):
attention to many issues at the same time. For private
“Attempts to raise the ambitions, for instance by incorporating
commissioners sustainability was still stimulated but
Solar Houses, had to be done by convincing the project
not mandatory. To our surprise the evaluation however
developers. This turned out to be very difficult due to reluctance
showed that some 200 privately commissioned houses
towards innovations and a project and budget well on its way.
actually did comply with the ambitious cRRescendo
Ecofys showed the developers how building sustainabily is not
standards.
more expensive.”
Two examples of private
commissioning in
Almere-Poort, showing its
diversity in a nutshell.
The first one-third of the houses was allocated to
1.7 Research on sustainability
project developers mostly before the start of the
project. The other two-third of the homes in NPW
Almere Poort and the major part of the city of Almere
was not allocated until mid 2006. Early 2007, local
are heated by district heating, a major technology to
municipal elections shifted the political “colour” in the
realise CO2 reductions for a municipality. Coupling
municipality.
district heating to co-generation is a well-known
From 2007 onwards private commissioning became in
reduction. The Almere Solar Island has demonstrated a
favour: most plots were sold to persons who developed
further reduction of CO2 by 10%. But what will be next in
the houses themselves. The municipality made
the crusade to zero-carbon district heating? Geothermal
external consultants available to assist the private
and biomass were studied. And how to generate
commissioners with the many issues they faced in the
sufficient electric power besides the PV systems? Wind
building process. These consultants were also trained
energy and regeneration of combined heat and cold
on energy saving by Ecofys. Meetings were organised to
for a zero-carbon district were investigated. All these
inform the consultants on energy issues and investing
studies, not only for the district Poort but also for
in energy efficiency measures. The consultants
future districts, were carried out under the cRRescendo
were instructed to raise the issues of energy costs
umbrella. Let’s have a look.
energy option in the Netherlands, leading to 40% CO2
and sustainability in their contacts with private
commissioners.
Geothermal energy
Almere wanted to look at the potential of low-
An evaluation shows that private commissioning
temperature geothermal energy. The geological
results in larger and detached houses, which consume
structure called the Slochteren Formation was
26
Almere Pampus windturbines
nearby the Columbuskwartier
community
investigated showing that geothermal energy can
be delivered to the district Nobelhorst, but not to
other existing districts as the distance to the relevant
geological layer becomes too large. In the Nobelhorst
district thousands of new houses will be built in the
years to come.
Biogas
Another interesting option is the potential of green
gas. In general, green gas can be directly used in homes
instead of natural gas. Six farmers in the area around
Almere are already producing biogas through a manure
fermentation process. Together with these farmers
and the province Flevoland, Almere conducted a study
Wind energy potential
to determine the current and potential production of
In 2011 and 2012 research has been done on how
biogas and green gas in 2030. It turned out that the
much wind energy can be deployed in Almere. These
farmers can deliver huge amounts of biogas or green
wind energy options relate directly to the energy
gas to the city of Almere. This gas can (amongst others)
supply contract for Almere Poort and therefore to
be used in the district heating of Almere. The present
Columbuskwartier: NUON must provide 100% green
six biogas production plants are already producing 23
electricity. The feasibility study showed that 10 existing
million m3 of biogas, sufficient for heating 9,000 houses
1.65 MW windmills of Almere Pampus can provide this.
in Almere. The potential for 2030 is 115 million m3 of
Now, but also in the future (when the district grows), as
biogas, sufficient to heat 45,000 houses.
the turbines can be replaced in the future by larger ones.
Regeneration of Combined Heat and Cold in a water
The energy supply contract for the Poort district also
protection area
requires that 10% of sustainable energy has to be
Nobelhorst is Almere’s newest neighbourhood under
produced locally, which is not yet achieved by the 689
development with over 4,000 dwellings and a business
kWp solar PV panels within the cRRescendo project.
area of 500,000 m2. As it is intended to be carbon
New wind turbines in the area are an option. From
neutral, Nobelhorst is an ideal candidate for learning
technical, environmental and landscape point of view
from the lessons from cRRescendo.
a lot is possible with large wind turbines in Almere.
But the area has its restrictions, as it is situated
Smaller urban turbines are also an option, but because
above a drinking water reservoir. Therefore, use of
substantial power is needed, the emphasis will be on
the underground for heating and cooling purposes is
large turbines.
prohibited. Several research studies were conducted
to solve this issue, e.g. one in which a system was
Although some conflicts with the existing provincial
studied to use the area 500 meter up north, beyond
and national policy have to be solved, over 100 MW of
the restricted area and another one in which only the
new wind power can be located in Almere. Partly on
shallow system (10 meter below surface) was used.
municipal grounds and partly on private ground. If so,
wind can contribute up to 25% of the sustainable energy
In the Netherlands dwellings happen to have a larger
production for an energy-neutral Almere in 2025.
demand for heat than cold. Therefore one normally
needs to regenerate the soil in residential areas where
Studies show that acceptance of wind turbines near
underground heat and cold is deployed. The heat can
housing depends largely on adequate information and
be delivered for example by a nearby existing biogas
the possibility for inhabitants to profit financially.
cogeneration unit. Another possibility is to combine
Therefore, the municipality must facilitate financial
residential with business areas and to deliver “cold” to
participation. Lately also options and choices for bottom-
the business area.
up initiatives to participate have been studied with very
27
interesting results. The so-called “Deals for Sustainable
1.8
T
owards smart energy-neutral in 2025
Almere 2012-2014” (September 2012) are important
municipal policy statements on wind energy.
Masterplan Energy Almere
A major result of cRRescendo research and the adoption
“So now even people with little
capital can get solar panels. We
made interesting business cases for
both the company and the resident.”
Anne Marie van Osch, cRRescendo
project manager sustainable energy
Almere
New solar PV business models
of the lessons-learnt for Almere is the Masterplan
In Almere (cRRescendo) hundreds of houses
Energy Almere 2.0 (MEA). The successful Solar Island in
and several other municipality-owned
Noorderplassen West, the Passive Houses and the Solar
buildings have been equipped with solar PV
Houses in Columbuskwartier fostered the belief that
panels. Almere is experimenting and preparing
Almere might become energy-neutral. In 2011 the MEA
new business models for PV. In the so-called
study was commissioned by the province of Flevoland,
“Company”on” model (in Dutch: Bedrijf-Zoekt-
as part of the collective quest with the national and
Buur), company-owned solar panels are
local authority to double the city’s housing capacity
installed on the roof of an employee, a client,
and increasing its quality (= “Almere 2.0”). The target of
or a neighbour. The model combines a tax
energy-neutrality from 2025 onwards and iconic measures
deduction opportunity for the company with
for the short term (2012-2014) were undersigned by
delivering high-value electricity at consumer
Almere, Flevoland and the Ministry of Infrastructure and
tariff level. The inhabitant gets a solar system
Environment in September 2012.
free of investment and pays an annual fee to the
On-going studies on wind energy, solar panel boosting,
company for the consumption of the renewable
a greener heating network and geothermal energy were
energy. A similar model was developed placing company-
integrated in this study. The target of energy neutrality
owned solar panels on local government buildings.
in the municipality is allowed to be partly obtained with
The model has been tested in Amsterdam with school
renewable energy capacity in the surrounding province.
buildings.
The baseline scenario to 2025 showed that with a
For and with the community
growth of 50,000 households, generic trends in energy
With the Almere Principles in mind, Almere wants to
consumption lead to an autonomous energy consumption
develop to a sustainable city not only on a ecological
of 9,8 PJ. This is partly covered by 1,84 PJ locally produced
base, but also socio-economically. We think that our
sustainable energy, mainly due to market penetration of
people make the city: the residents of the CONCERTO
solar panels.
communities are the driving force for creating sustainable
Alderman Ben Scholten planting
a tree at the opening of the
Passive Houses
communities and , and the Almere’s citizens in general
The energy vision of Almere for 2025 consists of
eventually for a smart sustainable city. In the project
4 elements:
we have put great effort in informing our citizens and
- extra energy savings
involving them. From the youngest child to the most senior
- exchange of energy
citizen, or again referring to the “Principles” from Cradle to
- shifts in energy carriers (gas to electricity)
Cradle.
- local and regional production of Sustainable energy
Within reasonable constraints, 20% extra energy savings
and energy exchange can be deployed, leading to 1 PJ of
end-use reduction. A total of 3.9 PJ/yr can be produced
with wind, solar, biomass and geothermal capacity within
the city boundaries. The remaining 4.9 PJ can be achieved
in the surroundings using wind, biogas and geothermal
capacity. Thus, 44% of the net energy consumption can
be produced within city boundaries and 56% from the
surroundings. Realisation will require large investments
but also creates jobs.
28
2010
2025
baseline
2025
MEA 2.0
2025
MEA 2.0+surr
End-use (PJ)
7.2
9.8
8.8
8.8
Sustainable production (PJ)
0.65
1.84
3.9
8.8
Reduction CO2 (kton/year)
90
232
414
800
Net CO2-emissions (kton/year)
560
656
386
0
Local investments (M€)
1,167
1,745
New jobs in person years
3,823
4,866
Policy changes
(NTR) announced that Almere is chosen to organize the
On European level, implementation of sustainable
7th edition of the Floriade. The themes of the Floriade
energy requires a level playing field, combined with
2022: greening, feeding, energising and healthying the
temporary incentives. In Almere some fundamental
city, align perfectly with local, national and European
regional policy changes are required as well for this
issues. Almere as a growing city wants to create a
energy transition to succeed, such as:
“smart” green city where energy is generated, rather
- the provincial policy on wind energy is to be revised
than used alone. She wants to achieve a circular
-expanding legal and financial options for solar power
economy where waste is transformed into raw
-consider a regional sustainable energy organisation.
material in closed and sustainable cycles. And a bio
based economy, so a revolutionary transition from an
Several business cases have been selected, based on
economy that runs on fossil fuels to an economy that
their energy potential and their expected feasibility.
runs on biomass.
Scenarios baseline and
MEA 2.0 and MEA 2.0+surr
Almere Floriade 2022 will
be parrallelled by the most
ambitious urban development
and will pave the way towards
an energy and carbon neutral
Almere in 2022
In these the combination of public and commercial
parties, pension funds and specific banks (public private
partnerships) allow for a lower, and socially responsible
rate of return. (e.g 5%). The presence of a willing and
financially solid municipality is essential to achieve and
finance this energy transition.
Regional networks
Almere is working closely in a network of 35 other
local governments and the provinces of Flevoland and
Noord-Holland in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area
(Metropool Regio Amsterdam). This region wants to be
energy neutral in 2040, using only renewable energy
and no fossil fuels. Jointly, studies are conducted and
working conferences for aldermen are held. Also in this
network cRRescendo houses en demonstrations in
Almere are used as a guiding example.
Beyond cRRescendo: the making of the Floriade 2022
Immediately after the project end date of cRRescendo,
in September 2012, the Dutch Horticultural Council
29
From
observer
to doer
A
special concept within CONCERTO projects is the presence of associated partners
or so-called observers (often municipalities) in the consortium that carries out the
project. cRRescendo adopted this concept as a primary means to disseminate lessons
to other municipalities in Europe.
When the project kicked off, observers were easily interested to actively participate in
cRRescendo. Peer reviews and excursions to best practice communities were well attended
and inspiring for both observing and the four core municipalities.
However, during cRRescendo’s third to fifth years, it became harder to interest the observers.
There simply was not enough direct gain from the project for observers to allocate substantial
human resources. Eventually, we were able to attract the observers’ attention again by
demonstrating the results of the projects in four main cities, and by showing ways to increase
their own direct gain in the project.
Looking back we can see a clear positive impact of cRRescendo on the observing communities.
For instance new EU project proposals by observers reach higher quality levels. During our
evaluation it was interesting to learn what results of cRRescendo can be applied to other cities
in general and to the observers in particular, and what results may need tuning to the specific
constraints of another community or region.
Misterbianco (Sicily),
Italy
Sergio Campanella: “We were stimulated by
cRRescendo from the start to present the
EU state-of-the-art in Misterbianco and to
Misterbianco is an important commercial
prepare a Local Action Plan. Preparation of
centre in the north-western part of Catania
this continuous plan and the dissemination
on Sicily. Its population of 50,000 inhabitants
of results afterwards were subsidized by
is spread out over a vast area. Suburbs occupy
the EC, but for the realisation of the actions
half of its surface while commercial facilities
a much larger investment was done by the
occupy 30%. In sustainable development,
Misterbianco community.”
Misterbianco takes into account two different
Four cRRescendo actions were applied in
autonomous developments:
- the growth of the suburbs and;
main medium-term goal a great commitment
- the stagnation of the historic centre.
on the short term is required:
Misterbianco:
A. Realisation of PV and thermal solar plants
The main renewable energy source in the
Misterbianco territory is solar energy for
electric energy with photovoltaic systems and
for thermal energy through solar collectors.
1. Installation of about 4,000 m² of
B. Citizen sensitisation
buildings;
C. Interventions towards families
2. Installation of about 6,000 m² of solar hot
water collectors;
Misterbianco wants to become one of the
first solarised cities on Sicily. To achieve this
30
in public structures
photovoltaic panels on the roofs of urban
D. Interventions for saving energy in public
lighting
3. R
eduction by 10% of the energy demand in
the commercial area.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Nadia Nikolova: ”Sofia has been an observer right
Our largest observer community is Sofia,
from the start. One of the main practical benefits
capital of Bulgaria. Sofia carried out several
of this relationship was that Sofia became a main
detailed surveys, for example on the
partner in a more recent CONCERTO-II project
“Possibilities for the Use of Renewable Energy
STACCATO. Sofia was introduced to STACCATO by
Sources and Energy Saving Technologies
cRRescendo partner Ecofys.”
in Municipal Buildings”. In addition a pilot
Two important sustainable developments
in a central (“Vazrajdane”) and a peripheral
have followed the implementation of
(“Vrabnitsa”) district of Sofia was performed.
complete programme for the utilization of
cRRescendo in Sofia. First, investments
An activity with direct impact was the
hydrothermal resources on the territory
directed at reduction of energy consumption
Zapiska project. The main objectives
of Sofia, rehabilitating all municipal
were realized at nine schools in nine districts.
of this research were: establishing a
baths buildings, and refurbishing their
Repairs and refurbishment of the school
environment. This Zapiska research included
buildings will result in 53% lower energy costs
the assessment of hydrothermal potential as
because of a decreased energy consumption
well as the environmental impact.
by 3,823 MWh. Second, the Mayor of Sofia
The realization of the refurbishment
has become involved in the Covenant of
programme is warranted by grants to Sofia
Mayors, a European cooperation committed
from Bulgaria’s Ministry of Environment and
to increasing energy efficiency and the use of
Water.
renewable sources.
San de Sénart, France
Jeunes 77, intends to build a residence for young
people in 2014. Installing monitoring systems in
The community of Sénart comprises of 10
these residences could be a way for them to watch
towns and villages, with 110,000 inhabitants.
energy and water consumption in accommodations
Sénart is located 35 km southeast of Paris. It is
they manage.”
the youngest of the new towns surrounding
Together with social owner Relais Jeunes 77,
Paris, and is still growing rapidly.
Sénart developed an interactive tool, called
“Max & Soraya learn eco-friendly behaviour”,
San de Sénart has intensified the
to raise young people eco-awareness and
participation in the final period of
cRRescendo, when it became possible to
housings. Results were shocking. Since
behaviour. The “Max & Soraya” movies are
combine cRRescendo actions with their own
then, social householders quickly became
broadcasted on the Sénart website.
plans: the Local Housing Programme and
innovative, have undertaken actions to
the Sustainable Energy Action Plan. Sénart
refurbish 15% of the investigated housings
undertook two main actions.
and to make energy improvement works on
The successful conference “Sustainable
54%, up to 2015.
development and social housing
refurbishment”, in 2007, involved most
Nathalie Dupont: “We learned that monitoring is
of Sénart’s social housing organisations.
important, a new way of thinking for us. This might
Afterwards, these social house owners
be a stimulant for future building programs. One of
measured the energy performance in
our local partners, the housing corporation Relais
31
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
Milton Keynes – the scene
Vizion – iconic building as an urban landscape
Office of tomorrow - The Pinnacle
Combined heat and power generation
PV power plant on former bus station
Moving forward
The power of heat
Milton Keynes
2.1 Milton Keynes – the scene
expected eventual population of about 250,000 people,
primarily built to accommodate the growth of the London
Central Milton Keynes
UK’s largest new town
area. The City was designated in 1967 at which time the
Milton Keynes is situated midway between Birmingham
area’s population was approximately 40,000. From the
and London. It is the largest urban development project
1970’s through to the 1990’s Milton Keynes established
ever undertaken in the UK – a “new town” - with an
itself as Britain’s fastest growing urban area and has
remained one of the fastest growing areas up to the
present day. The City has evolved as a major regional
centre. Currently approximately 210,000 live in the new
city. Almere and Milton Keynes are so-called Twin Towns.
Milton Keynes Development Corporation
The early development of the city was the responsibility
of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, which was
established by the central government. The Master Plan
for Milton Keynes was published in 1970. It was devised
as a strategic framework capable of responding to
changing needs, rather than a town map or a “blueprint.” Six guiding principles were identified, one
of which addresses sustainability: “Efficient and
imaginative use of resources.”
32
“The ambitious CONCERTO projects
have created nation-wide exposure
for Milton Keynes and made a
huge difference to the communities
where these projects are based.
Milton Keynes now benefits from
sustainability pathfinder status
and we are pleased the HCA has
been able to support partners to
boost the town’s growth potential
as a destination of choice for urban,
environmentally-conscious citizens.”
Margaret Allen, Executive Director,
HCA Midlands.
The Master Plan also recognised the close
municipality and the realisation of ambitious projects:
connection between transport systems and
the physical deliverables associated with cRRescendo/
the arrangement of land uses and the need
CONCERTO. Projects and policy in unison!
to consider these two fundamental elements
together. A unique “grid” pattern of main
The UK Government under the Sustainable Communities
roads - intersecting at approximately 1 km
Plan designated Milton Keynes as a “Growth Area” in
intervals - stimulates dispersed land uses
2003, and subsequently in the Milton Keynes & South
throughout the City. The dispersal of homes
Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy. A long-term vision was,
and jobs allows for an even distribution of
therefore, developed to guide the proposed expansion of
traffic.
Milton Keynes.
The Development Corporation put in place
Jeremy Draper, Senior Practitioner, Environment Team, Milton
much of the city’s infrastructure and oversaw
Keynes Council: “The Milton Keynes Local Plan, adopted in 2005,
its rapid and large-scale growth during the
included an ambitious sustainable construction policy (known
1970’s and 1980’s. When the Corporation was
as Policy D4), stipulating that all new development above a
eventually wound up in 1992 its remaining
certain size must be ‘carbon neutral’ or offset its emissions
land and property assets were transferred
within the city, incorporate renewable energy technologies to
to the Commission for the New Towns
deliver a 10% reduction in CO2, feature water conservation and
and, subsequently, its successor English
drainage technologies, and use sustainable building materials
Partnerships, the National Regeneration
and minimise waste.” At the time of its introduction
Agency.
this policy was seen as “pushing the boundary” in
terms of reducing the resource consumption of new
development and achieving zero carbon growth.
2.2
The aspiration of developing MK into a ‘showcase low
Central Milton Keynes was designated as the “city centre”
carbon city” was later articulated in the Low Carbon
and an exception to the principle of dispersed land uses.
Prospectus (NHBC Foundation, 2010). Jeremy Draper: “The
It was envisaged that Central Milton Keynes should
prospectus presents a vision for reducing the environmental
contain a substantial shopping centre, cultural and
impact of buildings and transport through a wide range of
leisure activities/facilities, housing and offices to serve
initiatives involving a diverse range of stakeholder groups.”
the population of the new city and the surrounding area.
With at its heart a sustainable residential quarter.
The cRRescendo initiative
Four separate developments with ambitions beyond
Embracing Sustainable excellence
The objectives of the CONCERTO programme resonate
directly with the challenges faced by Milton Keynes
as it matures into a significant regional centre. There
was a good “fit” between the emerging vision for the
!
standard regulations were realised in Milton
Keynes within the cRRescendo project: the
Vizion, the Pinnacle, a Combined Heat and
Power plant, and a large PV system.
Jeremy Draper and Jon Muncaster (Senior Urban Designer,
Eco-buildings and combined
heat and power plant in Central
Milton Keynes, the 165 kWp PV
system is located on the old bus
station near the station just
west of this area
English Partnerships) concur: “the CONCERTO programme has
been instrumental to achieving the sustainability and quality of
these projects.”
The developments cover production and use of heat, cold,
and power and demonstrate sustainable consumption
in domestic and commercial use. The commercial use
consists of office and shops/retail. Two of the projects
achieved national exposure in the UK.
the power of heat
33
Vizion - inner courtyard (Left)
Vizion - streetview (Right)
Vizion Apartments with
award-winning Roof Garden
landscaping
34
Landscaped courtyard Vizion
2.3Vizion – iconic building as an urban
landscape
characteristics of the apartment blocks were based
upon the cRRescendo Specifications. In addition,
water saving fittings were applied throughout to
The Vizion complex is a high quality vertical mixed-
reduce demand for hot water. Jon Muncaster: “Our initial
use development by Abbeygate Developments Ltd.
plans were much more distinguishing with respect to the
The English Partnerships competition winning design
national regulations of 2001. But as we encountered delays,
by q2 Architects is a vibrant high density mixed-use
and regulations were sharpened in 2003 and 2005, the lead
development which not only creates a landmark
evaporated partly. A strange effect of time.”
for Central Milton Keynes but also addresses the
city’s sustainable development objectives. It was
All buildings are designed with advanced energy
completed in April 2009. The development contains
performance, to meet BREEAM “Excellent” and Eco-
441 apartments and townhouses, a large Sainsbury’s
Homes “Very Good” ratings. The electricity and heating
store of approximately 10,000 m2 and another 4,100
are supplied by the CHP system. Residential units have
m2 commercial and retail units. The 441 residential
large balconies, which also provide solar shading. A
units are distributed over 14 blocks totalling 26,887 m2.
pleasant open streetscape is maintained by providing
Buildings gradually step up in height from 4 to 12 storeys,
two levels of basement parking below the main
providing active frontages to the existing streets,
buildings.
increasing connectivity to adjacent areas and providing
non-obtrusive security by maximising sight lines to the
How do residents perceive their Vizion apartment? Are
main footpath routes.
they aware of the energy measures? Partly, seems to
be the answer. A questionnaire was distributed to the
An Enhanced Building Fabric (EBF) was deployed to raise
inhabitants, and 28 replies were received.
the standard of the building thermal characteristics
36% of the respondents were aware that their
beyond national regulatory requirements. Better
apartment block was connected to a combined heat
insulation of walls, roofs and windows, and less air
and power plant, and 43% that it was specially designed
changes per hour were applied. These building thermal
for less heating and fitted with efficient lighting and
the power of heat
35
appliances. However, regardless whether people were
aware of the measures implemented two-thirds are
actually happy with it.
John Piggott, Associate Director, Arup: “Many prospective
residents are nervous about taking heat and power from a CHP
scheme (which is still an unusual arrangement in the UK). They
prefer dealing with a big utility company that they recognise.
Hence the “anonymity” of the energy supplies in Milton Keynes
is actually a real positive outcome. Many sustainability projects
in the early 2000s were making “statements” that sometimes
backfired if the costs went up or the technology did not deliver.
Milton Keynes is a refreshing change because it is low-key and it
just works.”
The design and layout, daylight through windows,
and the general comfort of their flats are rated at the
2.4 Office of tomorrow - The Pinnacle
highest level by two-third. One third of respondents
also conveyed the highest degree of satisfaction with
The Pinnacle, developed by Hampton Brook, is a
the heating and level of humidity in their homes. These
high-quality office scheme incorporating an element
are partially due to the energy measures, as many other
of mixed-use. The design has attracted leading
physical elements of the apartments (e.g., layout, day-
companies such as Deloitte and Touche. It is the first
lighting), which are in effect there.
BREEAM “Excellent” rated office development in Milton
The Pinnacle Commercial
Offices
Keynes using the Building Research Establishment
High quality landscaped courtyards are a major feature
Environmental Assessment Method, with an A
of Vizion. The 0.5 ha large, “green roof” of the Sainsbury’s
rating Energy Performance Certificate. It was winner
store doubles as a magnificent podium garden for
of an Office Development Award for Sustainable
residents. Frosts, landscape gardeners, won a Bali award
Achievement. The Pinnacle accommodates three
for the garden landscaping in 2009 for these landscaped
commercial offices and several smaller retail units, with
communal gardens and pocket park with play facilities.
over 19,000-m2 commercial space.
In a Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine assessment
The enhanced building fabric was applied to raise the
undertaken by Arup in 2012, the site selection, facilities
standard of the building and the thermal characteristics
management and energy and water use indicators were
beyond regulatory requirements. The CONCERTO
all scored as “best practice.” These achievements are
standard of insulation was used as a basis for these
considerable and represent real successes for the scheme.
offices. Heat, cold and electricity are supplied by the
CHP system.
This development was a significant milestone for the
city centre. It was the first scheme to respond to the new
The Pinnacle uses more energy than was targeted, but
Development Framework for Central Milton Keynes. The
there are good reasons for this. John Piggott (Arup):
design and quality of this scheme are very visible, and set
“Generally, office space is more utilised now than a few years
a “benchmark” for future development. The sustainability
ago, as businesses are tending to put more people into the same
measures are invisible - quite ironic considering the
space, to get better value for money from their real estate.
name of the building. The Vizion is an icon, as name
Combined with the constant rise in the use of IT, this means that
and content coincide perfectly; a landmark for Central
office space is using more energy. The energy used per employee
Milton Keynes and answers to the city’s sustainable
is not increasing. So maybe we need to rethink our metrics in
development objectives.
future.”
36
The Pinnacle Commercial
Offices
How do occupants feel about the building? Overall,
behind, as one-quarter claims their work productivity
survey data (Oxford University / HCA) show that the
is reduced by the environmental conditions in this
building is performing well for the occupants. A quarter
building (e.g. thermal, lighting, acoustics). Ruth
knows the building was connected to a combined
Wharton (USEA): “We expected negative responses because
heat and power network. Approximately half knows
of a resentments against the landlord. But overall, responses
the building was designed to be energy efficient and
were moderate. Nevertheless the comments called for
half of the respondents said they thought the building
implementation of improvements.”
was performing efficiently. Only thermal comfort lags
the power of heat
37
Name (Residential)
The Vizion (14 blocks)
Measures
District heating with Combined
Heat and Power
Number of homes
Gross area per house m2
441
61
Buildings / functions
Realised Gross m2
Office building A
9,010
Office building B
7,396
Office building C
1,875
Small retail units
955
Supermarket
10,000
10 retail units
3,000
Commercial office space
1,100
33,336
Overview cRRescendo Ecobuildings, renewable energy,
and polygeneration in Milton
Keynes
High insulation
Non-residential Name
Measures
District heating/
cooling with CHP The Pinnacle
High insulation
The Vizion
District heating with CHP
Total
Name (Power plants)
Installed
(kW)
Production (MWh/year)
Measures
Two engines
(of 3.07 MWth and 3.04 MWe each)
Energy Station (Combined Heat
and Power System)
12,224
Heat: 13,277
Electr.: 15,632
Connected to 925 residential units
(Vizion: 441 and the Hub: 484)
Connected to commercial spaces Vizion and
office building the Pinnacle
Photovoltaic Power Plant
165
Total
12,389
38
92
15,724 (Electr.) + 13,277 (Heat)
825 panels of 200 Wp each
Energy Station & chimneys
See also page 59 for Case:
Investing in CHP
2.5 Combined heat and power generation
What it is
the 80 m high chimneys, which was thought to spoil the
skyline. But after completion and inclusion in between the
buildings, they proved to be barely visible.”
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) operates on the
principle of using waste heat of electric power
A 3.04 MWe and 3.07 MWth Combined Heat and Power
generation. The heat produced is channelled to heat and
(CHP) system was built as part of cRRescendo. A second
cool buildings and/or provide domestic hot water. In
engine, of the same size, was added in 2009 to facilitate
conventional power plants heat is being wasted, leading
expansion of the system (not part of the cRRescendo
to efficiencies (in the UK) of maximum 60%. In contrast,
project). This increased the total capacity to 6.08 MWe
Combined heat & power plants can achieve an efficiency
and 6.14 MWth. At the heart of the station are two CHP
of over 80%. CHP systems are generally most efficient
units that are fuelled by natural gas and have an electrical
when there is a mix of demand: residential, retail,
output of 3.04 MWe each. The area served currently has a
schools/colleges and/or businesses. This mix creates
radius of about 1.5 km, and the total area served is 90.000
a more constant need for heat day and night. A CHP is
m2 .
CHP is selected by forwardlooking organisations as a
reliable heating and cooling
technology
generally connected to the mains power grid for back up
electricity and the opportunity to sell “excess” electricity
But not all buildings were connected from the start.
back to the grid.
Rather, a steady growth of connections was realized over
a few years. Initially, in 2007, “the Hub” (a development
Steady growth of demand
comprising 484 apartments, 30 shops and offices) and
In 2007, Thameswey Central Milton Keynes Ltd. was
the Vizion buildings (with 441 apartments, commercial
established to construct and operate a Combined
outlets and a large Sainsbury store) were connected. Two
Heat and Power station, to deliver district heating and
years later, the office building Pinnacle was connected.
electricity via a private wire network to newly developed
This required expansion of the Energy Station with the
areas in Central Milton Keynes. The Energy Station is
second engine, maintaining spare capacity for future
located on Avebury Boulevard. Jeremy Draper: “During
residential /commercial development in the west end of
design and planning process an objection came up regarding
Central Milton Keynes.
the power of heat
39
!
Jeremy Draper: “The CHP plant is barely
noticed anymore. I believe an engineer is
successful if it works and nobody notices.
So in my opinion this has been a very
successful project.”
How different from ten years ago. In 2000, in the UK,
experience with CHP and confidence in District Heading
were minimal, because of the imprinted history of bad
projects of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Jon Muncaster:
“The common opinion was: CHP won’t work in this country.
But there was an initiative in Woking for CHP in central town
The spare capacity proved valuable, because in 2012,
offices. A visit there made us enthusiastic.” The Chairman
the Network Rail Headquarters the “Quadrant”
of the Board of Development Corporation suggested
development was connected to the CMK CHP system.
bidding for European money. Jeremy Draper: “This EU
The “Quadrant” development, comprising 38,000 m2
funding made the project financially attractive enough
will provide accommodation for approximately 3,000
to go ahead.”
Network Rail staff. Paul Hammond, Area Manager, MK Land
Energy flows in the Energy
Centre
Team, HCA: This expansion to the Network Rail headquarters
The lesson here is that with modern technology
is a strong vote of confidence in the CHP to deliver cost
and management, and with a long-term vision to
effective heat and power. They wanted to be associated with
exploitation, prejudices can be countered: CHP proves
us, a forward looking community, and we of course wanted
competitive. The CHP Energy Station has become a
those high-value jobs in our town.” The Quadrant is located
nation-wide example of good practice. Jeremy Draper:
outside the original CHP project development area,
“Our example helped solve the chicken-and-egg problem
and therefore, there was no obligation for the client
around CHP. Without the confidence of an existing scheme, no
to connect to the district CHP system; the decision
one ventured into it. And with no new examples, the prejudice
for Network Rail to connect to CHP was made on a
against it remained alive. Now, project developers are much
comparison, which involved the other energy solutions.
more positive towards it. Now the Energy station’s management
But some negotiation was done: Jeremy Draper: “Instead of
is looking for opportunities to expand towards the shopping
full conformance to the D4 policy, it was agreed to do something
centre and the skiing-hall.”
special and to achieve BREEAM Excellent.”
generation
losses
32%
100%
elec.
37%
elec. export 3%
elec.
29 %
heat
31%
heat
25%
elec. import 9%
elec. lost 5%
gas in (boiler, CHP)
elec. used other area’s
elec. cRRescendo
9%
heat cRRescendo
6%
heat used other area’s
29%
19%
heat lost 6%
40
CHP Performance
The electrical generation efficiency of the CHP was
Taking all flows into account and generation losses
37% and the thermal efficiency was found to be 30%.
and including electricity import and export, of the
This corresponds to manufacturer’s nominal electrical
energy flows can be constructed, for instance in a
efficiency of 42% and thermal efficiency of 43%,
Sankey Diagram. It unveils the flows and losses that
considering the degree of over-sizing of the central plant
occur in between the production and the consumption
to accommodate future expansion. With one of the
of electricity and heat and including import and
machines often all that is required to meet the demand,
export of electricity. 38% of the primary energy in the
and partly operating on part load for significant periods.
gas is converted to electricity that can be used for
consumption (including export) and that 25% of the
And overall 30% of primary energy is saved in Milton
heat is converted to useful heat for consumption.
Keynes thanks to cRRescendo. Close to the target of
38%. The reduction in primary energy is partly due to the
Balancing the energy
increased efficiency of the buildings and partly due to the
How do the 4 projects (CHP, Vizion apartments,
CHP. The difference compared to the CONCERTO target is
Pinnacle offices, and PV) now balance in energy?
mainly caused by two effects: a larger energy consumption
The majority of the electricity (86%) and heat (97%)
of commercial sites e.g. due to large glass surfaces and
consumed stems from the CHP plant. It is mainly
high occupation levels in offices, and because the CHP is
used in the private wire system and district heating is
operating at partial load, which will improve in the future.
delivered from the CHP engines. There are interesting
It can be concluded that, on one hand, significant
opportunities for improvement, but here we focus on
savings have been achieved. On the other hand, there is
the overall balance.
still potential for improvement.
Energy balance cRResendo
project
production
consumption
heat
heat
electricity
electricity
CHP
Pinnacle
imports, exports, losses
Pinnacle absorption cooling
boiler
Vizion
The Hub
the power of heat
41
2.6 PV power plant on former bus station
development control) terms, the PV arrays have
been installed at an angle of 5°. This slightly reduces
The search for a site
operational output and thus income. The roof of the
One of the objectives was to develop a “renewable
bus station had been renewed not long before and
energy” component in the Sustainable Residential
installation of the PV array had therefore not, been
Quarter in Central Milton Keynes (CMK). Because this
anticipated. The new roof membrane could not be
West End development had to be postponed due to
punctured to facilitate the installation of the PV array.
adverse economic conditions an alternative strategy
Consequently, a bespoke engineering design had to be
had to be adopted. In November 2009 the Milton Keynes
devised for the supporting “steels” to create a suspended
Partnership Senior Management Team approved to
roof frame, increasing cost.
install a photovoltaic (PV) array of 165kw in the Centre.
But where to put it?
Most appealing was to incorporate the PV on the Vizion
Electricity sales
or Pinnacle. These had already been completed and
The output from the PV is continuously monitored
negotiations involving the developers and occupiers
through a web portal and the energy and carbon data
ultimately ended unsuccessfully. Another option was a
are prominently displayed at the building entrance. The
ring-fenced “ground-level” PV installation on a vacant
first half-year period February - August 2012 showed
site. This option had the advantage of flexibility:
that the PV array had generated 92.5 MWh of electricity,
when development of the site took place, the PV
saving 49 tonnes of carbon. The electricity produced is
installation could be removed and then “lifted” into
delivered free of charge to a youth community interest
the roof design. However, the costs associated with
company. The PV operator sells the excess to energy
ground level location (such as security) and removal and
company Good Energy. The electricity that is exported
re-installation at some future date, and the anticipated
to the grid is monitored and metered on a half-hourly
disturbance of energy production during a potentially
basis by metering company Stark Energy.
lengthy relocation period made it unfeasible.
Excellent location
Persistence (time was not on our side)
Finally, the former bus station - a property in HCA
freehold ownership - was settled on as the most
Ambitious, subsidized projects always are challenging
appropriate site for the PV installation. It is an
because application deadlines put pressure on decision
excellent location: a two-storey building with a large
making whereas the waiting time and negotiations
flat, overhanging roof area, open to the sky and not
to get approval cost much time. In Milton Keynes, this
overshadowed from any direction by any development
played a major role in the final project choice during the
or structure. Following a competitive tender process,
negotiation phase with the EC in 2005/2006. During the
the PV installation - one of the largest “retro-fitted” roof
course of this time, numbers of apartments went down,
based arrays in the UK to date - was completed in March
but the ambitions rose considerably. Brad Hook, United
2012. In total, 825 panels, made of polycrystalline silicon,
Sustainable Energy Agency: “And with time, national regulations
were installed. A mini weather station monitors the
changed. Now we even have a feed-in tariff for PV.” Two major
ambient air temperature on the roof. A maintenance
time consuming factors have contributed to the drastic changes:
and operation contract between the HCA and the
subsidy negotiations and the financial crisis.
installing contractor was agreed.
Negotiating subsidy application
42
Architectural and roof integrity
Due to the long time period between the submission
One principal planning issue and one technical issue
of the original bid in December 2003 and completion
literally posed “boundary conditions” to the PV system.
of the contract with the EC in July 2005, commercial
The installation had to respect the “architectural
and programme pressures forced some of the early
integrity” of the existing building. As a consequence,
developers to start on site before the CONCERTO
and to make the array acceptable in planning (i.e.
contract and its requirements were finally agreed
PV Installation on former Bus
Station, Central Milton Keynes
(upper left)
Inverter room PV system (right)
Secondary steelwork structure
elevates the PV panels and
protects the waterproof roof
membrane (lower left)
Global financial crisis
The global financial crisis developed since 2007 severely
affected the UK housing market. Results for cRRescendo
were that progress in negotiations for including other
building developments first slowed down and at a later
stage it turned out that the new building plans were
unviable altogether. Jon Muncaster: “The plan was to develop
a “community” in the form of the Sustainable Residential Quarter
located in Central Milton Keynes, centred on the West End Phase
1. This plan was a dramatic leap in quality, with for instance air
tightness unknown in the UK. However, this scheme, comprising
650 homes and a 420 place combined school, stalled when
the global “credit crunch” / banking crisis resulted in economic
with the EC. Jon Muncaster: “The result of this was that a
downturn. There were too many apartment developments in
significant portion of the planned developments “the Hub”
preparation.” This has led to the withdrawal of (building
in cRRescendo had already been designed and planned by the
4 Phase 1) / (West End Phase 1) which included the
time the cRRescendo contract came around. By then, it did not
primary school intended to meet the needs of the larger
have sufficient ambition to qualify as cRRescendo development
community.
anymore. As PV panels were planned to be installed on the
original buildings, this also jeopardised the renewable energy
Re-Development
contribution to the project.”
So: an empty portfolio. Jon Muncaster: “But we kept
!
The flexibility shown by the EC towards
committed to the contract, Milton Keynes could delve into its
the CONCERTO contract to be revised and
array of development plans. The practicality of including an
extended was very supportive for
off-site anaerobic digestion plant was investigated, (fuelled by
achieving physical deliverables. The
kitchen and garden waste) to produce biogas for the CHP unit.
unprecedented economic downturn had a
This was not viable for financial reasons.” The Anaerobic
significant adverse impact on the UK development and
digestion plant is being built, but the gas generated will
construction industry. This flexibility was also critical to
be used for a variety of local uses, including replacing
other European consortium partners. The flexibility
liquid fuels used for waste collection vehicles.
shown by developers of, then, recently completed
The CONCERTO contract was re-negotiated to
schemes was also critical in helping to achieve the
incorporate two previously planned schemes in Vizion
required physical outputs. A search for replacement
and Pinnacle, including the connection of them to
projects commenced.
the Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plant. The CHP
was enlarged to 3 MWe, from the original 1,4 MWe.
the power of heat
43
outputs, undertaking research and associated report
production. The influence of MKC principally derives from
a combination its political power [e.g. local democratic
mandate] and statutory planning responsibilities; to
include “plan making” and “development control.”
2.7 Moving forward
Milton Keynes has joined numerous ambitious national
and international initiatives and networks. Jeremy
Draper: “We signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate
Change, agreed in the frame of the LSP Local Area Agreement
Fortunately, the Pinnacle building already incorporated
on a carbon reduction target of 12% by 2019, and joined the EU
absorption chillers in the basement, prepared for CHP
Covenant of Mayors, which required cuts in carbon emissions by
connection.
at least 20% by 2020.” Eventually the “Low Carbon Living
Strategy and Action Plan” was published by the Council in
For the incorporation of renewable energy, in Milton
2010, with the aim to target an overall carbon emission
Keynes PV solar energy, it took longer to find a solution.
reduction of 40% per person, and to place Milton Keynes
Paul Hammond: “Finally, the roof of the former bus stations was
at the forefront of low carbon living, nationally and
found to be suitable for installing 165 kWp of PV panels. The
internationally.
bus station functions as a home for a community interest group
which helps young people. It is located just across the road west
Spreading the word
of the original cRRescendo project area and south-west of The
The cRRescendo projects were highlighted and promoted
Pinnacle.”
at the Low Carbon Living Seminar, held at Stadium: MK,
in December 2011. A further workshop was held with
Land ownership is of great
help to municipalities
in ambition setting and
maintaining
This resulted in a smaller and less centralised project
stakeholders and cRRescendo partners in June 2012 to
than anticipated, but still with significant savings over
disseminate information about the recently completed
business as usual. And a close-knit suite of projects:
PV installation.
CHP, offices, dwellings, and PV plant. Thanks to
persistence on many sides. And everybody agrees, these
Ian Byrne, Deputy Director, National Energy Foundation: “A
have been realised because of cRRescendo.
major benefit of the scheme has been to showcase the ability
of designers and developers to meet a benchmark with the low
National/local partnering
!
energy requirements of the project, in the heart of a developing
The primary stakeholders have been
city.”
English Partnerships/HCA and Milton
This provides evidence that developers, in conjunction
Keynes Council, with planning and
with city planners can affect the market for low energy
development powers, showing political
housing and offices.
commitment and financial commitment and
44
owning land interests. The positive dynamic between EP/
Development power and land interests
HCA and MKC illustrates how organisations working to
English Partnerships/HCA assumed “lead partner”
different national and local “drivers”, and assisted by the
status in the Milton Keynes cRRescendo consortium
valuable input of other consortium partners, effectively
as a consequence of its planning & development
combined to realise common sustainable development
role and its ability to provide investment. The
objectives through the cRRescendo programme. A good
designation of Milton Keynes as a “Growth Area” in the
“connect” was established with other partners [e.g. Arup,
Sustainable Communities Plan (ODPM, 2003) led to
ECIOU, NEF and USEA] who have been principally
the establishment of the Milton Keynes Partnership
concerned with providing technical input, monitoring
(MKP) local delivery vehicle; a sub-committee of English
West-End 1 development plan
(not yet realised)
Partnership for implementation support for the physical
project timeframe. Paul Hammond: “The “retro-fit” PV
elements of the project (i.e. development). From the
installation represented a compromise between, on the one
Agency’s perspective, the initiative was corporately
hand, planning, building and technical constraints and, on the
driven. EP’s/HCA’s National Consultancy Unit
other hand, the aspiration to reduce carbon emissions through
championed involvement in the project, negotiated the
the delivery of a renewable energy system. Having the original
associated contracts, and subsequently managed and
architect on board helped pave the way and find acceptable
co-ordinated the European element of the project (e.g.
solutions.” This compromise may have resulted in a
“City Co-ordinator” role and EU grant claim).
more costly - and marginally “sub-optimal” - PV array.
Basically, HCA had significant land interests in Milton
Nevertheless, the installation successfully fulfilled the
Keynes. The Agency owned in excess of 550 hectares of
cRRescendo/CONCERTO renewable energy objective
land in Milton Keynes. This ownership included some
whilst also addressing a variety of policy and technical
strategic land parcels in Central Milton Keynes, which
requirements.
Retrofitting a building
with solar energy can be a
balancing act. The original
architect can help find the
equilibrium
became the focus for cRRescendo/CONCERTO related
developments. As a consequence of its land ownership
Moving forward
HCA was also able to produce development briefs for
It is clear that Milton Keynes has the capability to
its sites which sought to “raise the bar” in terms of the
develop low-carbon buildings. And moving on is needed.
design and sustainability of development.
New, more advanced policies are under development,
and the first “carbon-negative” building, a school, is
Involving the architect
on the drawing board. Jeremy Draper: “Maybe we did not
With regard to securing planning permission for the
publicise our achievements as much as we could have but we
PV installation, commissioning the involvement of
are still proud of the powerful combination of forward looking
the architect who had originally designed the former
policies and projects generated by cRRescendo.”
bus station in CMK was, in hindsight, very beneficial
since this arguably expedited both achievement of the
required planning consent and, indeed, subsequent
installation of the PV array in accordance with the
the power of heat
45
Sharing local
learnings
T
o support learning across projects the EC organised CONCERTO+ Premium activities.
In the European events in Brussels, our partners very much appreciated learning about
the results from other CONCERTO projects. In the national events, where more partners
attended due to less travel time, they appreciated talking in their own language about the
Energy Rich activities
to involve Almere
residents
CONCERTO communities in their own country. Both were evaluated as key dissemination
actions.
Communication experts advised that the
name cRRescendo would not resonate
Environmental education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and
enough with the local community. Therefore
awareness about the environment and associated challenges. It develops the necessary skills
the name Energy Rich (EnergieRijk in Dutch)
and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments
was invented. Under Energy Rich various
to make informed decisions and take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).
activities were organized for residents of the
communities and Almere in general:
Energy education is a subset of environmental education. It focuses on increasing public
- Opening festivities
knowledge about the impacts of energy production and consumption. Energy training, on the
-Open days
other hand, is a much more intensive process than education. It focuses on building skills for
-Photo contest
experts interested in working in the field.
-Treasure Hunts
-Educational activities
cRRescendo’s final dissemination activity was the successful cRRescendo ConfeRRence,
-Out-of-school events like
Step by step towards a carbon neutral built environment, held in October 2011 in the city of
in the community
Almere. 126 participants listened to high-level presentations and involved in lively discussions
information centre Klokhuis
on the results and impact of the project. All aiming to convince stakeholders that large scale
(opening by Queen Maxima, see picture).
climate-neutral building is possible in the foreseeable future (2020). The proceedings can be
downloaded from www.cRRescendo.net.
After the delivery of Solar or Passive houses,
instructions were given to residents on how
to use their sustainable house or PV system.
Almere developed a sustainability training
and toolbox for residents who want to build
their own houses. These Private Contractors
are a new phenomenon in the Netherlands.
This toolbox included a voucher for free
professional advice on sustainable building.
In addition to residents, training was also
provided to professional target groups.
Training activities differed from sharing
general knowledge and lessons learned, to
very practical ones like on how to build energy
efficient houses or how to advise private
contractors on sustainable building.
46
Enduring impact
through Milton Keynes
professionals
Intensifying
communication between
stakeholders in Ajaccio
Education for a
sustainable future in
Viladecans
Milton Keynes has given priority to the training
With regard to sustainable development, Corsica
From the cRRescendo cities Viladecans was
of professional stakeholders and target groups
was lagging behind other regions in France at
hit hardest by the economic recession and had
(although involved residents have also been
start of the cRRescendo project. To prepare the
the greatest change between planned and
reached). Throughout the duration of the
refurbishment activities it was necessary for
realised activities. Therefore, more efforts
project, training courses for design teams, PV
the different stakeholders to work together. In
were directed to general and professional
specialist installers, and building managers
Ajaccio we learned that (to be equally successful
education for establishing the basis for future
have been offered. The project was closed in the
and timely realised) a refurbishment project
sustainable development.
Low Carbon Living conference and exhibition
needs to be further prepared than a new building
in 2011, highlighting the contribution of
project. A refurbishment is more complicated
Over a four-year period, more than 1,000
cRRescendo.
in decision-making, and the residents that are
children participated in 29 energy education
involved are not always willing or able to pay for
workshops.
The aim of almost zero-carbon buildings
the improvement, even when it is economically
These workshops ranged in topic from solar
could not be maintained due to the recession.
feasible.
kitchens, photovoltaic energy, solar thermal
energy to energy efficiency.
This resulted in disappointment for those
professionals involved from the very beginning.
As a result of cRRescendo, engineers and
Professionals more recently involved are on
architects in Corsica learned to communicate.
In addition 44 adults received training,
the contrary very satisfied. They see that the
The municipality and the housing corporation
distributed across three different courses:
four developments are excellent examples for
started to interact, and developers and residents
stakeholders to replicate in a world in which the
learned to understand each other. Excursions
sky is not the limit anymore.
to other cities of France and Europe (e.g. by
the mayor and professionals) stimulated the
Three demonstrations already have significant
conceptualisation of a more sustainable Ajaccio
impact on the development of building in both
and other parts of the island via a covenant
Milton Keynes and the UK - some of them have
between 20 mayors on Corsica.
even shifted paradigms:
In the first cRRescendo training for architects
-The cogeneration heat/power plant is
and decision makers it was concluded that
-A solar thermal and photovoltaic
installations course for unemployed people
from the building sector;
-Two full week courses on the assembly and
maintenance of solar thermal collectors;
-A full week course on the assembly and
maintenance of solar photovoltaic panels.
there was a severe lack of knowledge on the
Viladecans also did substantial public
island. In March 2012, to solve this Ademe gave
outreach and awareness activities. The
followed by the NetworkRail headquarter in
an in-depth training on the environmental
activities varied from a mobile municipal
Milton Keynes;
quality of buildings to about 20 architects.
office for informing citizens and a sustainable
Subsequently Ademe organized information
house for the general public, to brochures
sessions in six micro-regions of Corsica, attended
about the sustainable developments and
by 25 professionals each, about the new thermal
workshops for over 200 children (Solar Sports
regulation for new building called RT 2012.
Cars and Penguins Against Climate Change).
followed throughout the UK;
-The ambitious Pinnacle office building was
-The residential block Vizion is planned to be
copied just across the road;
-The Vizion residence is very popular among
residents despite the crisis.
47
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
A suite of projects
Performance – occupant behaviour
Moving forward
Sustainable renovation
Ajaccio
3.1
“We have changed the way we
renovate. And rather than tackling
single buildings, we are now
developing ideas for “eco-quartiers”.
We will be moving strongly towards
a smart low-carbon city. With the
experience built up and our iconic
energy-positive building, we are
confident to get there.”
Simon Renucci, Mayor Ajaccio
Ancient historic capital
Ajaccio is the ancient capital of Corsica with
!
Facing the technological and financial
challenges of the more sustainable renewal
programme, Ajaccio decided to explore
international co-operation options.
65,000 inhabitants covering 82 km2. Ajaccio
is located on the Mediterranean coast with a
Fast adoption of sustainability
lively marina. The historical centre consists
At the launch of CONCERTO Ajaccio became more aware
mainly of old buildings. Since 2004, it falls
of the need to reduce public energy consumption as well
under the “Protection of Architectural, Urban
as the energy use of social buildings tenants. The steps
and Landscape Heritage”. The buildings
towards a better quality of life, and with greater respect
in the town centre as well as the suburb
of the environment were gradually set up. Virginie Bollini,
areas are energy inefficient. Expansions
cRRescendo project manager at Ademe: “Until the early 2000’s
around the centre contain many 1960’s
the city had little awareness for an environmental approach
apartment buildings, many in urgent need
towards buildings. Through the inception of the cRRescendo
of renewing. In 2002, a significant urban
project Ajaccio’s understanding and involvement grew towards
renewal programme was started by the
more conscious politics on the environmental issue.” The
City of Ajaccio, together with ADEME.
ambitions of Ajaccio increased during the course of
The programme includes several energy
the project. Virginie Bollini: “In 2005 approx. 300 apartment
measures.
refurbishments were planned whereas now more than 425 have
been realised.”
48
Ajaccio
The fast growing environmental awareness was
enormously aided by the international project.
Ground plan of Ajaccio with
cRRescendo developments
Virginie Bollini: “Discussions and exchanges with cRRescendo
partners, Almere in the Netherlands; Milton Keynes in the
United Kingdom and Viladecans in Spain, helped by sharing
experiences. The annual meetings enabled us to observe the
different approaches implemented in other parts of Europe.”
As new large scale
At the same time, the French National Programme
urban developments are
for Urban Renewal (Ajaccio belongs to since 2007)
multi-year projects even
enabled social landlords to rehabilitate their ageing
ambitious requirements
housing stock by implementing money-saving and
may be surpassed
energy saving or even energy-producing building
by new regulations,
improvements. Virginie Bollini: “In 2003, at the start of our
lowering the possibility
project, the French national regulation was not as ambitious as
to serve as an exemplar
the CONCERTO energy requirements. The national regulation
project for a longer
on energy efficiency was sharpened in 2006 and 2009 and now
period. Integration of
supersedes CONCERTO requirements for new-built, but still
an extra high-ambition
there are no regulations for refurbishments.”
“Icon” project in the
developments, will
extend this exemplar
role.
sustainable renovation
49
The building and technical companies developed along
housing environment”. In particular the installation
similar lines, but not automatically. Virginie Bollini: “In the
of solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels
beginning it was hard to find specialists. And the slow tender
are eligible. The Housing Rehabilitation Programme
process for the Energy Positive building and the industry status
was launched by Ajaccio city in 2006 to increase
according to the CERC survey, inspired Ademe to organise an
refurbishment within the city. Denis Bravi, project manager
architect training course on Corsica. The first in 2010, and the
at Ajaccio Municipality mentions: “Our first idea was to work
second in 2012.” As a result, 20 professionals from the
on 10 buildings situated in the old centre of the town. The
industry gained knowledge on environmental quality.
Municipality began searching for buildings in need of heavy
But even here hurdles occurred: the small size of most
refurbishing, and more specifically on roof works, in order to
enterprises (typical only several employees) led to the
install solar thermal systems on these roofs. It was easy at start
issue that they cannot miss the workable hours “lost” on
to find willing owners in the old centre.”
training.
3.2 A suite of projects
Ajaccio set out to implement a suite of projects:
refurbishments and new developments (demolish and
But later three different problems emerged:
See also page 60 for Case:
- The heritage protection rules specify that roof works
Refurbishment for social
can only be carried out if not visible from public space,
owners: another cup of
i.e. from the pavements. This limits the use of solar
tea
systems.
- Most streets in the historical centre are orientated
build) with and without solar energy installations, in
East-West and have facetted roofs with different
the ancient centre and in the 1960’s expansions. In that
heights that create a lot of shading. Those facing
way, a wide-ranging experience would be gained fast
south are often visible from the street and thus
on a variety of buildings and procedures. This proved
a sensible approach: each development had its own
peculiarities and pitfalls, and different stakeholders
forbidden for use.
- In narrow streets there is often shading from buildings
on the other side.
influencing progress and quality.
The refurbishments should serve a dual purpose: reduce
Shadow casting in old city
centre
CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and reduce the rent for
tenants by lower service costs. Virginie Bollini: “A domestic
hot water system fed by solar thermal collectors rather than
gas fired boilers and better building insulation were expected to
reduce the use of heating in winter.”
The new buildings offered the opportunity to engage in
high ambitions. In Ajaccio, public buildings like schools
which are part of the urban renewal project in priority
areas, are built in compliance with High Environmental
Quality Standards (HQE, France) aiming at zero energy
consumption. Even more ambitious is the “iconic”
Maison de quartier des Cannes, which is developed
under cRRescendo and will be built in 2014. The new
building is an “energy-positive” building, which will
produce more electricity than it consumes.
Old centre solar systems - cancelled due to roof restrictions
Refurbishments on buildings located in the old
centre are eligible for interventions financed by the
“Programmed operation for the improvement of the
50
Residential Name
Number of
homes
Gross area per
house (m2)
Measures
Solar
Solar PV panels
Rue de la Porta
(1 new building)
8
75
Solar collectors
Overview cRRescendo Ecobuildings, and renewable energy
in Ajaccio
5,5 kWp
12 m2
High energy performance building envelop
Monte e Mare
(2 renovated buildings)
Solar collectors
91
70
98 m2
Refurbishment heating system
Solar collectors
St Paul
52
70
Improved ventilation, heating and lighting
system
94 m2
Improved roof insulation
Installation of Casa system
system
St Jean 2
196
117
Double-glazed windows
Insulation of exterior walls and roof
system
Solar collectors
Pietralba 2
80
87
Double-glazed windows
142 m2
Insulation of exterior walls, floor, and roof
Installation of Casa system
Total dwellings
427
Office buildings
Name
Number of
buildings
Planned Gross
m2
Measures
Solar
Solar panels
Urban wind turbines
Les Cannes, new public service
building (construction 2014)
1
Total office buildings
1
1,000
200 m2
Ambitious specifications for insulation and
ventilation resulting in an energy positive
building
1,000
51
Renovated building St. Jean
With these restrictions much fewer buildings then
expected were identified and none were refurbished.
This highlights the important difference between new
development and refurbishment projects. In the latter
the current inhabitants are the main decision makers and
very diverse. In addition the situation of each building may
differ and plays an important role.
New area refurbishments finally successful
In the new areas of Ajaccio a renovation project was
initiated in a zone defined as the French Sensitive Urban
Areas. In total 419 homes were renovated spread over 19
buildings named: Monte e Mare, St Paul buildings, St Jean2, and Pietralba-2 buildings.
Part of the renovation plan was the introduction of solar
Renovated building Pietralba
thermal collectors. For this technique an issue arose
regarding the ownership of the dwellings. A social owner:
“If Isupport the cost of the works, I have no return on investment if
I cannot raise the rent, as the benefits go to the tenants saving on
their energy bills.”
The municipality rapidly realised the unfairness of the
distribution of the benefits between private flats owners
and social tenants. Therefore the strategy was changed.
Ajaccio approached the social owners to also take part in
the cRRescendo project, resulting in a lower investment
due to European subsidy. Denis Bravi: “Several meetings were
organised with co-owners of private buildings, in order to study
the feasibility to install thermal solar systems on roofs with them.
Both collective private housing and houses owned by a housing
association were then equipped in particular with solar collectors
for domestic hot water.”
There also was a plan to install solar (PV) panels on all the
Renovated building St. Paul
buildings (119 homes) of the community St Jean 1. This was
feasible with the feed-in tariff for electricity in 2009 of
0.44 €/kWh. Unfortunately the feed-in tariff was lowered
to 0.12 €/kWh by 2011. This lower feed-in tariff made the
panels completely unfeasible for the building owners.
!
Because the buildings of Saint Paul were
already better than other buildings in the
area, the extra effort to insulate the walls,
ground floor and windows turned out to be
not feasible for the building owners. It was decided to
concentrate on the measures that had the highest effect
on the savings for the inhabitants, such as roof insulation
and a solar hot water system.
52
New apartments in heritage area built to high standards
The roof was designed with a south orientation to the
The unsafe and unhealthy apartment building in the city
sun with no visual impact from the street, and was
at Rue de la Porta 3, owned by a housing association had
equipped with solar systems. No less than 3 different
to be replaced. It was agreed to demolish and rebuild
solar systems were mounted. A solar thermal system (12
it according to the French High Environmental Quality
m²) was installed to produce hot water for sanitary use.
Standards (National regulations for green buildings in
Two air-type solar collectors were installed on the upper
France). Denis Bravi: “Then local interest groups successfully
part of the south front wall of the staircase. They reheat
campaigned to ensure to conserve the architectural heritage.
and ventilate the building’s staircase, minimising heat
One of the outcomes: solar panels were only acceptable when
loss between the landing doors and the common parts.
not facing the public street, i.e. facing the courtyard.”
And finally 32.5 m²of photovoltaic panels were installed
to produce electricity, the sale of which will cover part
The new apartment building is made in Siporex – a
of the extra cost incurred by achieving the so called High
first for a 4-storey building in Corsica. Siporex is a
Environmental Quality Standards. Virginie Bollini: “The
lightweight concrete. It is available as blocks and pre-
heritage rules unfortunately led to partial shading of the system
cast reinforced units for floors, roofs, and walls. This
during certain daytimes.”
material has a high energy performance.
New building in city centre,
Rue de La Porta
Evolution of an “energy-positive” building
The 1000 m2 public building “La Maison de quartier
des Cannes” was developed on land made available by
demolishing an older building in the middle of the “Les
Cannes” district. Originally it was planned to reach
the High Environmental Quality Standards. Virginie
Bollini: “In 2010 a call for tender was launched by ADEME on
a regional level for architects to design an exemplar building,
with ambitious specifications. The winning architects conceived
an “energy-positive” building: It will produce more energy
than it needs, because it is fitted with 200 m² of photovoltaic
panels. A great, but realistic design. This extremely high result
for the public building would not be possible without the
cooperation and exchanges with Almere and Milton Keynes in
the cRRescendo project.”
!
Thanks to the ambitious specifications of
the competition to select an architect the
objective of a zero energy building,
producing the total of its needs in energy,
has established itself as a realistic solution.
Realising the ambitious plans of the winning architect
proved more difficult than anticipated. Its originality,
specifics and its innovativeness as the first building of
this type in Corsica made the discussions, drawing up
of the requirements, and the consultation procedures
for contractors a rather long venture. The construction
tender went out included in a Corsica-wide call for
several energy-efficient buildings. Twenty subscribers
developed plans. These plans did not contain feasible
plans for the zero energy building. Virginie Bollini: “Ajaccio’s
53
Solar thermal system Ajaccio,
Pietralba
Energy-Positive building remained on the loose for over a year.
Therefore Ajaccio had to launch a new specific tender procedure,
with more success.”
It shows that visionary ambitions can be adhered to,
and ambitions can be increased rather than downsized!
Although substantially delayed, the public office
building will be built in 2014 and is more advanced than
initially envisioned. Denis Bravi: “We learned from other
cRRescendo cities, we set high ambitions for the architect, and
we gave the architect the freedom to choose how to realise these
ambitions. Corsica needs buildings like these.”
Solar energy systems – thermal and electric
Combine technical and
social monitoring, to
understand data and take
appropriate action
3.3 Performance – occupant behaviour
Solar thermal hot water systems and one solar PV
systems were mounted on part of the buildings, for a
Combine social and technical monitoring
total of 346 m2 respectively 5,5 kWp.
Both national regulation and CONCERTO standards
calculate energy performance using building
parameters, but do not account for occupancy. It is
well known that occupant behaviour and occupancy
numbers are very influential on the energy bill. The
extent of that effect is shown in the monitoring results
Energy-positive public services
building
54
of Ajaccio. Virginie Bollini: “We think it is better to combine
consumption. Virginie Bollini: “Inspection of the building
technical and social monitoring and do it with a locally known
during the monitoring period revealed several things. First,
partner. Interventions on energy behaviour should be taken after
during daytime lights are on: not all window shutters were
starting the monitoring.”
opened during the day, and the light is not switched off after
use in the toilet. Second, computers were not switched to low-
Heating on demand
energy mode during lunch break, and third many devices remain
In Monte e Mare, the heat consumption was measured
on standby at all the time (computers, printers, DVD players),
with sensors and data loggers. Heat consumption
explaining the high night-time consumption (20% of the day-
varied enormously from one apartment to another,
time peak).”
with the highest consumption 10 times that of the
lowest. These differences may be due to a variation
Risk perception and money saving
in set temperature, the duration of heating, varying
Solar hot water systems concern a technology for which
occupancy, and ventilation preferences. One poorer
Corsica has a reasonably well-developed industry
inhabitant is very clear on his heating strategy: “When I don”t
compared with other regions of France. That does not
have money, I just switch the heating off, whether it’s cold or
mean that solar thermal technology is fully normalised
not.”
across Corsican society, while some actors associate
risks with the technology because it is still relatively
Public servants learning to conserve energy
unknown. The perception of risk for maintenance has
How do occupants influence the performance of
even led to the creation of a new service charge for
public office buildings in the St. Jean area? Reference
residents in the Monte e Mare apartment building.
monitoring values are available for a similar office
Some residents fear now that the system which they
building in the area. The measured consumption in
had been told would save them money on energy bills
the reference situation is much higher than one would
may see them actually becoming worse off overall.
expect, the electricity consumption as well as the heat
A resident survey on people’s general understanding
and familiarity with sustainable technology pointed out
several interesting issues, such as the anxiety regarding
the risk and regulation associated with the Legionella
Large variation in electricity
use for heating, 10 households,
Monte e Mare
80
bacterium in solar hot water systems. But like one
annual heating energy (kWh/m2/year
inhabitant puts it: “I don”t know how it works but I save
money with the collectors.”
70
60
3.4 Moving forward
50
The Corsican building industry
In 2011, the French national network of Construction
Economics Groups (Cellules Economiques Regionales
40
de la Construction, CERC) surveyed industry
representatives in 30 French employment districts,
30
including Ajaccio District and Southern Corsica. It
gives a comparative snapshot of the construction
20
industry in economic activity in two sectors: lowenergy construction and installation of renewable
energy technologies. The survey focused in particular
10
on the needs for new competences among building
and renewable energy professionals in the short- to
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
medium-term.
households
55
Solar thermal collector field
aside a residential building
In France, construction accounts on average for
or construction of new buildings. For the apartment
10% of the economy, but the Ajaccio district scores
building renovation in St. Paul, the proportion of
substantially above average: 13% and in Southern
CONCERTO funds relative to the total was 2.1% of
Corsica even 16%. Spending on low-energy and low-
the total capital budget. However, the impact of
impact buildings in Southern Corsica takes 13% of all
cRRescendo may prove to be greater than the financial
construction budgets, lower than the national median
contribution.
of 16%, and half of the highest-spending districts (25%) in
France.
Low-energy refurbishment projects are clearly an
underdeveloped competence on Corsica during our
project. Another study however shows that Corsica has
!
The interest in the Mayor’s office in now
developing an entire neighbourhood to be
more sustainable should be seen in the
context of Ajaccio winning the status of
project partner on the cRRescendo project.
a higher number of solar thermal installation companies
per capita compared to the France, and a somewhat
Virginie Bollini: “Now, the Mayors are convinced they can
developed PV industry.
change the way we renovate. They take action and actively
!
spread that believe around. And rather than tackling single
But change comes fast: early 2011, in
buildings, we are now developing ideas for “eco-quartiers”,
Corsica there were no labelled low energy
districts involving 200-500 homes within the Agenda 21
buildings. Now an impressive 86 projects
programme”.
are seeking the relevant so called BBC
(Bâtiment Basse Consommation) approval.
Organise regional
dissemination and
showcase the feasibility
and attractiveness of your
eco-buildings.
One impact of having Ajaccio associated with a
prestigious EU-funded programme may prove to be a
stronger commitment to sustainable development in
Virginie Bollini: “Ajaccio’s cRRescendo project and the architect
general among the local politicians and government
training course have certainly contributed to this development.”
officials. And Ajaccio sets an example and spreads the
word. Virginie Bollini: “In the greater Ajaccio area, the 10
Spreading the word
-municipality Commune d”Aglomeration de Pays Ajaccio, now
The cRRescendo funding has been used to add funds
officially adheres to the objective to reduce greenhouse gas
to larger budgets, such that renewable energy and
emissions.” And Ajaccio’s renovations form showcases on
energy-efficient “extras” have been incorporated into
the feasibility of those.
larger projects – either renovations of existing buildings
56
57
Economics needs
replication
T
he measures implemented in the cRRescendo project are substantial, and costs are
considerable. Are these costs earned back in a reasonable time period? And how about
replication? No easy questions to answer. On these pages we analyse four cases: new
passive homes, a CHP plant, refurbishment for social housing, and a smart school.
Serial-built Passive
Houses in the rental
sector (Almere)
-Creating a communication plan about the
passive house for inhabitants;
-Initiating further product development
including the industrialisation of
components to reduce the work on the
building ground. This should lead to quality
Many see passive houses as a solution to
improvements, and cost reductions.
tackle the problems of ever rising energy
bills, scarcity of energy resources and
-Striving to a large degree of standardisation
climate change in the housing sector.
in the production of passive houses, leading
Within Columbuskwartier the developer
to high quality levels, with room for choice.
AM (supported by many others) realized
cRRescendo subsidy) and the payback period
a project with 103 passive houses for the
was estimated on 30 years. In practice
The knowledge which AM has built up
Urban Housing foundation Goede Stede. This
these costs however turned out to be higher
during this project has already been used
project was innovative and unique (in the
than expected due to specific incidental
for the development of a very energy
Netherlands) because the houses were built
reasons: €20,500 per house. Especially the
efficient apartment complex (Kotmanpark in
on a large scale and in a serial way, instead
construction costs turned out to be much
Enschede, the Netherlands). In recent years
of being a (single) pilot case. A standardised
higher at €16,000 per house.
several other serial passive house concepts
have been realized.
building process forms the basis of this
concept with the possibility to still create a
However it is expected that through
large variation of houses.
repetition and market development costs can
Passive building is a generic term for a way of
be considerably reduced to €7,000, consisting
building aiming at a healthy and comfortable
The focus was on optimising the technology;
of €4,500 for construction and €2,500 for
inner climate without traditional heating
economic optimisation would follow
other costs. These other costs will by then
or cooling systems. The energy demand for
afterwards. In the design phase the comfort
only be caused by additional material use (e.g.
heating and cooling needs to be maximized
and energy costs of the occupant played a
for insulation), but not for building activities.
on 15 kWh per square meter of living space
decisive role. Through the project a reference
Through this the payback time could drop to
per year. Furthermore there are demands
was created towards serial energy neutral
15 to 20 years in the short term. On the longer
for the total primary energy demand for all
houses.
term payback times of below 10 years could
households appliances, hot water and cooling
At the start of the project the total additional
be possible, considering the fact that building
per year (120 kWh/m2). Renewable energy
costs were estimated to be €12,000 per
standards will increase as well.
sources are used to fill in the remaining
house, consisting of €6,000 for the building
Project developer AM (BAM) foresees
energy need. Through this a passive house
construction, and €6,000 for other costs
the following actions for a full market
has an energy saving of approximately 80%
like installations. The costs for solar PV
introduction:
compared to a regular new house.
were not included (but paid by NUON and
58
Investing in CHP
(Milton Keynes)
The MK Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
plant, delivered by Thameswey Ltd, plays a
central role within the Milton Keynes demo
project. Using a pioneering approach by
working on a large scale with residential,
commercial and retail developers the first
multi-phase multi-developer CHP system of
its type in the UK came to be. A system that
to provide heat and power to the B3.2N
Thamesway’s current ROI is lower than
now successfully provides energy to over
(Pinnacle) office development. Although
expected: just above 5% compared with the
45,500m2 of commercial and retail space and
calculations indicated that CO2 savings of
targeted 12%. However the position of Milton
929 residential units. But how did this capital
400t/year could be expected, one of the
Keynes as one of the fastest centres of growth
intensive project come to be?
key issues were the infrastructural costs
in the UK means that the long-term outlook
for the expansion of the existing system
remains positive.
Core to the business case of the CHP plant
for Pinnacle but also for other future
is the Project Development Agreement
developments. The upfront investment costs
Successful repetition in the UK
(“PDA”), between Thamesway and the Homes
were higher due to the extended distance
Overall the CHP demo has been a success: the
and Communities Agency (HCA). It gives
to Pinnacle, and the additional advanced
system proved to be technically sound but
Thamesway the exclusive right to supply
infrastructure required (a new sub-station
also (on the longer run) economically viable. It
heat and power to all developments within a
and high-voltage ring main) to facilitated the
is therefore viewed as an exemplar project for
defined area in Central Milton Keynes (CMK),
connection of future development in CMK (to
others, and one with serious follow-up from
but only for a competitive price. Developers
reach the full capacity of Energy Station 1).
local up to national level:
in this area are required to enter into a Phase
Studies indicated that an additional capital
-In 2012, after cRRescendo, the BREEAM
Project Development Agreement (PPDA)
contribution of around 6% for Pinnacle alone,
“Excellent” rated Network Rail development
which commit them to use the CHP system as
and 30% of the total expansion investments
called Quadrant, comprising 38,000 sq.m.
long as it is financially viable for both parties:
were needed to make the scheme viable.
was connected to the CMK CHP system.
1Connection costs paid by developers to
The Quadrant had no obligation to connect
Thameswey must equal to the avoided costs
Overall, looking to the total CHP system,
to the district CHP system, and made a
(compared to traditional heat and power).
it is understood that the total private
comparison with other, competing, energy
investment to date in the CHP systems is
providers. This voluntary expansion is a
investments of Thamesway. It is understood
roughly £20 million. This comprises the
good indicator of the confidence in the CHP
that in this specific pilot this rate of return is
investment of Thameswey and the developer
12%, and that the majority of the investment
payments (avoided costs). Additionally /HCA’s
in the scheme is debt funded.
contribution is understood to be roughly
2A reasonable rate of return on the equity
3HCA can gap fund the project if it falls short
of being financially viable.
of £3m which is about 13% of the total costs
of delivering the CHP. However with the
assistance of government agency funding
Gap Funding
the infrastructure is now effectively “future
The CHP plant was constructed in 2007 and
proofed”, and in addition this sum is repayable
was able to successfully supply power and
to the Agency if/when Thameswey exceed the
heat to the Hub and Vizion developments,
target rate of return in the future. In practice
without any gap funding requirement. In
the economic climate has resulted in a
2009 however this situation changed when
delayed development of the area (not as many
Thameswey was contractually committed
consumers as anticipated yet). Therefore
business case.
-Thameswey also has an increasing number
of local Councils that approach them for
consultancy or joint ventures.
-And in recent years CHP projects is seen as a
popular low carbon measure across the UK.
Foto left: CHP plant in Milton Keynesis based on a
Jenbacher cogeneration unit
Foto right: Network Rail’s Quadrant building: 38,000
sq.m. office space connected to CHP in 2012
59
Refurbishment for social
owners: another cup of
tea (Ajaccio)
Regardless the lack of a solid business case,
OPH (and Erilia) however was strongly inclined
to improve the quality of life and reduce the
energy costs of their tenants. Thanks to a
combination of this ambition and additional
Different than in all other cRRescendo
support from the municipality and the
communities in Ajaccio the focus was on
cRRescendo project for the most ambitious
refurbishment instead of new developments.
measures, it proved possible to find sufficient
In refurbishments projects a new stakeholder
funds for making the very substantial
investments.
comes into play: the current inhabitant. It
turned out that the development process
investment, even when pay back periods were
For OPH the total investments for the three
in Ajaccio was intrinsically slower and the
low.
main projects (St Jean 2, Pietralba 2 and Saint
Paul) added up to €10.4 million! In addition over
outcomes were less predictable. In addition
we saw that the recession that hit Viladecans
In Ajaccio the solution was found through
€155,000.- was spend on technical research
and Milton-Keynes so hard, had a lower
the introduction of two social house owners
and feasibility studies to create the plans for
impact on the refurbishment in Ajaccio.
in Corsica: Erilia and OPH Sud (Office Public
these projects. The table below summarizes
de l”Habitat). OPH is the territorial company
the measures.
During this project we however learned
for social housing in the south of Corsica. Its
refurbishment not only radically changes
rents are about twice lower than standards
The renovation measures were implemented
the decision making process, but also
(about €5.- per square meter), and owns 1700
based upon the tenant’s request. Besides the
the business case behind additional
social homes rented to modest families, of
buildings themselves, a lot of effort was done
improvements relating energy efficiency. An
which a part was in need of renovation. The
by the city and the social landlords to improve
additional challenge was that renovations
solution was however not easy as the benefits
the surroundings and public space in the area.
were planned in relatively low-income areas
of energy savings end up with the tenants’
One of these efforts includes creating family
of Ajaccio. A first issue that arose was that,
trough lower energy bills, and the fact that
gardens for the inhabitants to interact and
regardless many information meetings, we
raising rents based on energy savings is not
grow their own food. This combination has
were not able to convince the private owners
allowed in France.
finally led to very positive feedback and high
satisfaction levels among the tenants.
to commit themselves in doing part of the
Measures
St Jean 2
(4 buildings, 196 homes)
Pietralba 2
(10 buildings, 80 homes)
Saint Paul
(52 apartments)
Total investment costs
€4.9 million
€3.5 million
€2 million
Insulation of the exterior walls (regulation: 0.5 W/m2K)
0.32 [W/m2K]
0.32 [W/m2K]
No works
Improvement of roof insulation (regulation: 0.4 W/m2K)
0.28 [W/m2K]
0.28 [W/m2K]
0.33 [W/m2K]
Insulation of the Ground floors (regulation: 0.5 W/m2K)
No works
0.37 [W/m2K]
No works
Installation of efficient lighting
12% savings
12% savings
15% savings
Replacement of the entry doors
Yes
Yes
Yes
Installation of mechanical ventilation
1.4 air changes/hr
1.4 air changes/hr
1.4 air changes/hr
Double glazed windows, including window shading
1.81 [W/m2K]
1.81 [W/m2K]
No works
New heating system (savings include insulation)
15% savings
40% savings
15% savings
Installation of a solar hot water system
No works
60% savings
60% savings
60
A smart school is cool
(Viladecans)
“An important milestone for the city and the
neighbourhood”: words spoken by Mayor
Carlos Ruiz of Viladecans in November 2011.
In September 2012 the New Primary School
CEIP Nova Escola Ponent opened her doors
in the West District of Viladecans City. New
generation smart devices and energy systems
(like light sensors, digital whiteboards, fibre
efficiency glazing, measures to prevent
optic cable, and PV) make the school, built as
thermal bridges, and the use of passive solar
part of cRRescendo, the first “Smart School”
energy in the building construction. There
in the municipality and a model for other
is no need for cooling thanks to the clever
buildings in the city!
building design. Building materials have been
chosen consciously and according to the
State of the art energy system
latest rules and norms. The annual energy
Thanks to the modern lighting and heating
consumption is calculated to be 608 MWh/
systems, and other “smart” devices the school
year, meaning 124 kWh/m2. The annual CO2
was awarded with the maximum energy
emissions are calculated to be 52 tCO2/year,
efficiency building certificate by ICAEN
meaning 10 kg CO2/m2.
(Catalan Institute of Energy). The school
Applied measure
Value
Clay Façade
U = 0.48 W/m2K
Concrete Facade
U = 0.46 W/m2K
Zinc Façade
U = 0.18 W/m2K
Roof
U = 0.28 W/m2K
Floor
U = 0.48 W/m2K
Glazing
U = 1.70 W/m2K
Solar factor (G value) = 0.58
Heating system
High efficiency boiler
Ventilation system
Heat recovery (balanced)
Hot water
9 solar collectors (23.5 m2)
Renewable energy
394 PV-panels (94.56 kWp)
makes use of energy efficient lighting systems
(Fluorescent lighting, high efficiency light
bulbs and LED), and the rooms and toilets
have presence sensors for saving energy when
the rooms are unattended. Within the class
rooms, sensors detect the light intensity
(luminosity) coming from the windows and
adapt the intensity of the lights.
A smart new management model
Regarding heating, a high-efficiency
The school serves as experimental example
condensing boiler is used combined with
of a new energy management model for
thermostatic valves at all radiators. The
other facilities in the city. Currently, the
ventilation system is designed to recover 50%
city is working on installing a new online
of the energy from the air going out from the
energy management system for the energy
classrooms. And in addition 650 m2 of solar
consumption of all the municipal buildings.
panels producing 125,000 kWh, and 9 solar
This system will allow the real time tracking
thermal collectors ensure the school is 70%
of all energy flows for each municipal
self-sufficient regarding electricity and 64%
building, or area. This information can be
for hot water.
used to set up corrective actions, manage the
energy demand/consumption patterns and
The building design has been created with
thus the required energy, spot moments of
energy efficiency criteria in mind with
excess and shortage of energy, etc.
features like ventilated walls and roofs, high
61
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Delivering eco-buildings
Solar energy in Viladecans
Overcoming barriers – stepping forward
Paving the way
Viladecans
4.1
in windows, few have solar thermal panels (just 2% of
dwellings have them), and 79% of the dwellings have
Growth between nature and infrastructure
little or no efficient light bulbs. But people are getting
Viladecans is a mid-sized Spanish town of 20 km2 with
more energy conscious: regarding electrical appliances:
over 65,000 inhabitants; a city located 15 km from
80% say they try to choose an A label (see also:
Barcelona and its Sea Port. Barcelona Airport is nearby,
www.cRRescendo.net).
and a significant part (16%) of the airport infrastructure
62
belongs to the city area. Besides the infrastructural
Committing to sustainability
connections (airport, sea port, national highways, and
Carmen Pérez Figueras, head of the department of International
a major railway), almost half of the municipal area is
relations in Viladecans and City Coordinator in the cRRescendo
environmentally protected. This double claim makes
project: “Energy saving and climate change is an important
the area complex when it comes to implementation,
subject for the city. The awareness of the city regarding
coordination and management of development
this subject is high. Over the period 1999-2010, this was
plans, such as a protection plan for aquifers. Still, the
substantiated by municipal policies and by joining external
Local Dwelling Plan anticipates a growth to 73,000
sustainability networks.” The first relevant policy
inhabitants in 2020.
measure was the approval of Agenda 21 already in
The existing homes in the town are fairly energy-
1999. A Municipal Environmental Action Program for
inefficient, e.g.: only half of dwellings have double glass
2003-2007 was approved in 2004 and the city signed
the “Vilafranca Declaration” for preventing
“Ten years ago, we were a standard
modern Spanish town, now we are a
city smarting our way towards low
carbon society. The large ambitious
European project with renewable
and rational use of energy we
participated in, paved the way in our
municipality. And it pays to do so:
our business districts are still filling
up and our citizens love to live and
work in our town.”
Viladecans centre
Climate Change in 2005. In addition, the
Municipal Assembly for Environment and
Sustainability was constituted on the 12th of
July 2005 and the Municipal Law for Solar
Energy was approved on the 23rd of April
2005.
The municipality enlisted in the European
Covenant of Mayors in 2008. Raquel Millán
Lopez ( 2013), cRRescendo project manager
for Viladecans: “This participation partly was
resulting from Viladecans’ involvement in the
cRRescendo project.” In 2009 the mandatory
Sustainable Energy Action Plan of Viladecans
was approved by the Covenant’s office. The
Carles Ruiz Novella, Mayor Viladecans
main objective of this plan was to reduce the
City Council’s own emissions by 20% in 2020
compared to 2005. Carmen Pérez: “Under these
substantial national and international frameworks,
the city started planning new developments
in a sustainable way, with high ambitions. In
Viladecans a shift from socio-economic to technical
projects was eminent and European support was needed.”
blocks is an interesting energy option to investigate.
Ambitious extension plans
Raquel and Carmen: “Everything was in place. But the housing
And so the sustainable showcase the “Llevant Partial
and financial crisis, which started in 2007, hit Spain and
Plan” was initiated. The plan involved 2,100 dwellings
Viladecans hard. The private building sector in Spain dropped
and included renewable energy, rational use of energy,
into a very deep crisis. Regretfully, we had to postpone further
community development as well as other sustainability
developments.”
criteria (water saving, wastes, biodiversity, etc.).
It was approved in 2007 by the Territorial Planning
Noblesse oblige
Department of the Regional Government of Catalonia.
But by then, sustainability had been firmly internalised
Carmen Pérez: “Such a ground-breaking eco-district required
in the council, and mayors were standing up for it. And
substantial research. An energy concept had to be developed,
Viladecans had its international network obligations in
the set up of a tender procedure necessitated legislation studies,
the European CONCERTO project cRRescendo. Carmen
and energy calculations for sustainable solutions were initiated.
Pérez: “Noblesse oblige. For instance, the Covenant obliges the
Sometimes with remarkable findings.”
municipality to obtain an “A” energy label certificate for all new
public buildings.”
!
A poly generation heat and power plant
combined with district heating may be
In 2009 the Municipality had to rationalise its plans
less feasible in the Spanish climate
for cRRescendo and directed all the efforts towards
compared to Northern Europe. In this
public buildings, such as theatres, sports facilities,
study this was due to a smaller demand for
paving the way
and libraries, and solar energy. These buildings then
space heating and a short heating period per year. A
demonstrate sustainability to visitors and occupants in
high temperature grid (e.g. 70ºC) supplying both space
practice, and show that the Council puts money where
heat and hot tap water may be the most attractive. And
its mouth is. Carmen Pérez: “When the recession is over, the
to supply the substantial demand for cold in summer,
project has changed the future way of building in Viladecans: it
cooling by absorption cooling machines in the building
will be clearly more sustainable than before.”
63
Viladecans Llevant development
plan (postponed)
Being in a European project was stimulating. Raquel
in the Viladecans’ Bureau for Urban Renewal towards
Millán: “The other cities in cRRescendo Almere, Milton Keynes
Sustainability. During the preparation phase all
and Ajaccio were inspiring examples how to adapt to changes
cRRescendo criteria were incorporated in the
and how to layout new districts.” But at least as helpful
public tenders for builders and the constraints for
were the other ambitious CONCERTO developments
the architectural designs. During the preparation
in Spain (Zaragoza and Tudela). Raquel Millán: “Exchange
and realisation the Council was assisted by the two
of experience and colleague help was very valuable. As were
municipal-owned Enterprises VIMED (development
the national (so-called CONCERTO+) meetings for exchanging
of the Llevant sector) and VIGIP (PV development);
knowledge.”
this is a common logistic construction in Spain.
These enterprises can operate with less bureaucratic
Viladecans became convinced that sustainability
constraints in developing projects.
is a multi-variable multi-level theme. To that end,
Time plays a large role
in subsidized projects.
Be prepared to deal with
delays and financial
re-arrangements.
a management tool has been developed and is
The period between preparation and submission of the
currently in operation. Raquel Millán: “The effective Project
cRRescendo proposal at the end of 2003, and the final
Co-ordination Committee of the cRRescendo management
contract in august 2005 took longer than expected.
structure was adopted in Viladecans. Internal Co-ordination
This caused that some of the buildings planned to be
Committees were installed to improve transversal co-operation.
sustainable to fall out of scope and sometimes were
So, by virtue of the cRRescendo partnership example, a Smart
built in the conventional way. For example construction
City Directors Committee has been formed with decision-
of Day Care Centre La Marina had already started before
making powers, formalised in the internal procedures. In
2005.
this committee, politicians, mayors, and area directors and
department managers participate.”
See also Milton Keynes (page 42-43): negotiating subsidy
applications
4.2 Delivering eco-buildings
Getting it done
Institutionally, the cRRescendo project was integrated
64
!
In addition the final subsidy conditions
did not all match Viladecans expectations.
Raquel Millán: “It turned out that the subsidy
available was much less than expected (30 €/m2
Overview cRRescendo Ecobuildings, and renewable energy
in Viladecans
Office Buildings
Name
instead of the submitted 100€/m2). Some criteria of the
For infants, culture, associations, sports, and students…
CONCERTO programme, for instance the U-values, should
The Council developed 3 new high-quality public (non-
be considered differently in warm countries, as heating is only
residential) buildings and refurbished 2 other buildings.
limited to a small part of the year and cooling is predominant.”
And, as part of a larger plan for installing 1MW of
Raquel Millán: “Around 2005, it was difficult to find some of
photovoltaic panels, Viladecans installed 238 kWp of
the energy-friendly building materials as they were not widely
solar PV panels and 191m2 of solar thermal collectors
commercialised in Spain. For example, at first it was difficult to
during cRRescendo. All were developed for users sharing
find the optimum double-glazing windows for La Pineda Day
a future oriented character, such as: day care centres,
Care. But ambitious projects like cRRescendo create the demand
cultural centres, sport clubs, and school buildings.
for this kind of products. Nowadays it is common to find such
kind of materials in Spain.”
Number of
Buildings
Type
Realised
Gross
Area (m2)
Measures
Solar PV (kWp)/Thermal (m2)
Solar collectors
Passive solar energy
Day care Centre La Pineda
1
New Building
1,144
High insulation of roof, floor and
windows
12.5 m2
High efficient lighting and cooling
Solar PV panels
Can Xic Youth Centre
1
Renovation
765
6 kWp
High insulation
Solar collectors
Sport Facilities building
1
New Building
156 m2
1.512
High insulation
Cultural Centre –
Auditorium Pablo Picasso
1
Renovation
821
High insulation
PV panels
School CEIP Ponent
1
New Building
4,982
Solar collectors
95 kWp
22.5 m2
Very high insulation (label A)
La Marina Park
0
New Pergola
Solar PV Panels
16 kWp
Atrium Sports and Theatre
centre
1
Existing buildings
Solar PV Panels
94 kWp
Cubic Conference Centre
1
Existing buildings
Solar PV Panels
23 kWp
Municipal Library
1
Existing building
Solar PV Panels
4.9 kWp
Total
8
paving the way
9,224
238 kWp
191 m2
65
Solar thermal hot water
installations on facilities
building Soccer field “Torre
Roja”.(right)
Day-Care Centre “La Pineda”
La Pineda is a new day-care centre hosting about 100
children. La Pineda is the first demonstration building
in Viladecans, taken into use on 1st of October 2008.
Insulation, efficient windows, solar hot water systems,
high efficiency lighting and cooling are installed. And
the building makes better use of passive solar energy.
The teachers say they feel very good in this comfortable,
modern building.
Day-care centre la Pineda (left)
Cultural Centre – Auditorium Pablo Picasso
The Auditorium Pable Picasso was refurbished in 10
months by 11 previously unemployed people. It is a
historical building from the beginning of 20th century
designed by Josep Canaleta, a pupil of Antoni Gaudí.
Originally it was an abattoir, which was reconverted
into a cultural centre during the 1980’s. The centre hosts
31 cultural associations. There is an auditorium with
theatre facilities and seating capacity for 157 people and
a small exhibition room. It was inaugurated on the 27 th
of February 2011.
Youth Cultural Centre “Can Xic”
Cultural Center Pablo Picasso
(right)
Can Xic is a refurbished country house with a cultural
destination. It offers workshops, courses and adjacent
office space and multifunctional spaces for music, arts,
etc. In May 2009 Can Xic has opened up with graffiti
competitions, table tennis, Wii matches, break-dance
shows and concerts.
Youth Cultural centre “Can Xic”
(left)
Primary School - Ponent
The new Primary School CEIP Nova Escola Ponent
(West School) contains a ground floor and two more
floors with 40 classrooms, one gym, one dining hall
with kitchen, a library, and a room for the parents
association. The building is 4,982 m2 and the plot
66
Sport Facilities Building - Football Field Torre Roja
is 8,000 m2. It is now fully in function, hosting 650
This Sport Facilities Building is a new building,
students. This building has obtained the “A” energy
inaugurated on the 24th January 2010. The 100 square
performance qualification according to the CALENER
meters of solar thermal panels cover 80% of the hot
and LIDER programs. A high efficiency condensing boiler
water needs, such as showers.
with thermostatic valves, and a ventilation system with
heat recovery is installed. And in addition 94.5 kWp solar
southeast, south or southwest. The installations are
photovoltaic panels for producing electricity, and 9 solar
functioning conform to their specifications. Most PV
thermal collectors are installed to provide for 64% of the
installations are mounted on buildings.
schools hot water consumption.
One exception: In La Marina Park, about 125 m2 of solar
See also page 61 for Case: A smart school is cool
PV is installed on a steel superstructure, including 96
panels (170 Wp each).
4.3 Solar energy in Viladecans
Several Wi-Fi spots are installed on outdoor PV-shelters,
The original goal was to install 342 kWp of solar PV
which were created near a public sports field. On
(for electricity) and 191 m2 of solar thermal panels (for
the long run the municipality is still committed to
hot water). All solar thermal panels and a large part of
implementing a total 1 MW of PV in the city.
the solar PV panels were finally installed. Raquel Millán:
“We counted on finance from the national subsidy schemes
for photovoltaic energy in Spain. But these decreased by 70%
between 2004-2008. Therefore it is not as interesting for a
private company to invest in a solar energy plant anymore. This
also meant that the last PV installation had to be totally paid by
our partner VIGIP. This seriously affected the implementation of
PV in the frame of the cRRescendo Project.”
So far, 239kW of solar PV has been installed (2/3 of
what was planned) on 6 locations, with panels facing
Solar panels on sport and
theatre centre
paving the way
67
Sustainability fair
Training professionals in
Viladecans on solar PV
installation and maintenance
(left)
Solar powered pergola servicing
Wi-Fi hot spots (right)
Solar panels on municipal
library
68
4.4Overcoming barriers – stepping
forward
Most of these setbacks are nation-wide.
The intervention by the municipality was to step
in as a back-up developer. Thus the majority of the
Manage and improve the
energy behaviour of all
users of your eco-buildings.
Performance in La Pineda affected by day-care users
investments have been directly made by the municipality
The point of view from the occupants is enlightening.
and its municipal enterprises. The private sector has
As one teacher puts it: “La Pineda is a modern, comfortable, and
not participated in financing. Raquel Millán: “The good
nice building. These are the really important criteria to judge
thing of such a deep crisis is that it forces you to rethink your
my working place.” She is obviously satisfied. Raquel Millán:
plans thoroughly and select the strongest.” We observe
“But we were curious how the buildings perform energetically,
from experience that any large long-term project will
and executed a monitoring programme.”
encounter financial and conjuncture barriers along the
Some preliminary results:
way.
In day-care centre La Pineda, the heat consumption
Harness indigenous technologies
seems to be much larger than CONCERTO specified, and
Raquel Millán: “Some sustainable building criteria, suitable for
even larger than the national regulation. This is largely
Nordic countries, are not applicable or implementable in Southern
due to high heat consumption in the winter months.
countries. And southern countries still have access to traditional
In addition the solar collector hot water yield was
“indigenous” construction methods which have evolved as the
substantially lower than expected. Should we conclude
most effective in the climatic conditions.”
that the performance is very poor? Not yet. First it is
important to take into account that there were start-up
problems with solar hot water provision. Due to liquid
losses in the primary circuit the collector had been out of
order for a while.
!
An example is rainwater collection and
re-use instead of draining it. In Spain
rainwater collection is still common
practice, but in northern countries an
almost forgotten skill. In Almere’s
Second, inhabitants, occupants and visitors influence
Columbuskwartier it is reintroduced. An interesting
performance. For example: Raquel Millán: “During evening
balance should be found between the attractiveness of
parents” gatherings, the parents adjusted the thermostat
technological advanced solutions versus traditional tools.
settings to make it more comfortable, and these were not reset
for a longer period.” Carmen Pérez adds: “In a day care centre,
Can modern low-carbon technologies be combined
where children under one year old are taken care of, will require
better with the traditional practices? Carmen Pérez: “We
substantial higher temperatures, maybe not taken into account
think that if you want to change the future, you first have to look
in the specifications.”
at the past. This was also shown in the soccer stadium. With a
!
passive design which shades the building in summertime, the
It is obvious the energy installations
cooling demand was substantially reduced.”
should be fully operational, and without
growing pains before starting the
monitoring period. And occupant behaviour
should be factored into the comparison
between calculated and measured performance.
Catalyst for the future
Main benefit of this project is that the municipal
mentality has changed. At all levels. Raquel Millán:
“Becoming a smart energy city is not a question anymore, but a
belief – a true paradigm shift.” But why did the Council not
paving the way
The financial crisis
advertise its accomplishments with grand openings
Despite the financial crisis, which interfered with the
of the buildings? Because of professional pride. Raquel
project, considerable work has been done. Raquel Millán:
Millán: “We are still disappointed and remorseful that we had to
“The financial and housing crisis hit us hard. Financial setbacks
postpone so many plans. But it may turn out for good. We are
were multiple: Higher construction and land costs which
better geared for large-scale developments. We are now preparing
reduced profitability. Lack of tax incentives and subsidies for
a re-development of the smart low-carbon Llevante development.
sustainability in Spain. Reduced CONCERTO eligible costs for
As such, cRRescendo has been an important catalyst and enabler
construction (€/m2), and changed Spanish law regarding PV.”
for a low-energy community.”
69
70
Calculated energy use
Measured use
140 kWh/m2.a
120
100
Checking the ambition
T
80
he monitoring in cRRescendo was aimed at assessing the community level benefits of
60
integrating renewable energy sources (RES) as well as energy efficiency (EE) techniques
40
in the cRRescendo communities. On the following pages a selection of relevant
20
monitoring results will be discussed. The full monitoring results can be found on our project
0
Regulation
Concerto specs
2010-2014
website: www.cRRescendo.net.
Noorderplassen West annual energy use
of 200 Wp each. The output was continuously
Solar energy in
cRRescendo
monitored through a web portal and an
energy and carbon meter is prominently
displayed at the community centre. Data
The Almere Solar Island, a large field with
acquired in the first half year of operation
520 coupled solar thermal collectors (7,800
(February-August) showed a production of
m2), supplies renewable heat to the primary
92.5 MWh. In Viladecans, 239 kWp of PV has
district heating grid of Almere which acts
been installed, and for 117 kWp 8 months of
as an unlimited storage. The water flow,
monitoring data were available. The results
for both cities indicate the systems perform
temperature readings and irradiation were
as expected.
recorded every 5 seconds from May 2010 to
Buildings in Columbuskwartier are equipped
June 2012. The results indicate that the Solar
with a large number of small PV-systems
Island annually converts 32% of the energy
equipped with CIS solar cells from Wurth
Pv in MK (page 42/43)
received from the sun (irradiation) to heat. The
Solar (CIS75-modules). CIS cells are thin-
Pv in Viladecans (page 67)
total yield of the Solar Island is between 8,440
film cells with a bit lower efficiency than
and 8,930 GJ for a normal year, leading to a
crystalline Silicon cells. It is the first time
yield per net m2 of 1.18-1.25 GJ. For comparison,
these cells are used at this scale in Holland.
individual collectors typically have a yield of 1.1-
About 80 systems are monitored. The
1.4 GJ per m2. So (within the error margin) this
annual monitored yield is 60-65 kWh/m2,
specific Solar Island system already performs
and the occupants themselves use most
The Ecobuildings can be roughly divided
equal to individual collectors without having
of the electricity (>95%). The monitoring
in in three energy efficiency performance
profited from its future learning curve yet.
also revealed several defects, which must
levels above the level that is obliged by law or
be solved by the supplier. Apart from these
building code. In Almere these houses were
defect systems, the average measured yield
for example called Eco-Houses, Solar Houses
has dropped in 2014 to 70% of the theoretical
and Passive Houses: with a 10%, 25% or 50%
For the solar hot water collectors in Ajaccio
calculated yield (72% in the beginning), which
higher energy performance. In Milton Keynes
(Rue de la Porta), it can be concluded that the
was and still is too low.
all dwellings and buildings belong to the mid-
Solar island (page 20)
Ecobuildings in
cRRescendo
level ambition or higher, while in Ajaccio and
solar hot water production (in the first year
only) performs less than anticipated: 10 kWh/
The monitoring of solar PV systems in Milton
Viladecans the ambition level is spread over
m2 instead of the anticipated 15 kWh/m2 floor
Keynes and Viladecans started late, leading
the low and the mid performance level. But in
area. Other locations such as Monte Mare
to a (too) short monitoring period. More
Ajaccio cRRescendo’s most ambitious (energy
and St. Paul performed somewhat better 11-13
data will become available later. In Milton
positive) building is being built after the end
kWh/m2.
Keynes the 165 kWp PV system, installed on
date of the project.
the old bus station, comprises of 825 panels,
71
Columbuskwartier: Annual energy use
Almere and Viladecans:
“The first year monitoring effect”
In Almere a large amount of monitoring data
was collected of about 700 dwellings for
Calculated use:
two consecutive years, including detailed
National
regulation
(monthly or real-time) results for about
Measured use:
CONCERTO
specification
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-2014
140
100 dwellings. In Viladecans monitoring
120
data were limited. But still 8 months of
100
monitoring results were available at the end
80
of cRRescendo, while monitoring continues.
60
figures on the average final energy demand
in the Almere communities shows that the
kWh/m2.a
40
The monitoring results presented in the
20
0
-20
buildings in both Noorderplassen West and
Planned
Realised
Columbuskwartier in average have been
built according to the specs promised to
Hot water demand
Cooling demand
CONCERTO. When looking at the measured
(Space) Heating demand
SHW heat production
Electricity demand
RE electricity production
energy consumption (real behaviour) an
Annual energy use La Pineda
interesting effect appears:
Annual energy use newly built
and Can Xic - refurbishment
-In Noorderplassen West monitoring results
are in line with the expectations (see title
Calculated use:
box).
160
results improve a bit from the first to the
second monitoring year, with possibly an
underperformance in the first year.
This may be due to the fact that half of the
houses in Columbuskwartier had only been
commissioned just before the monitoring
were delivered earlier. This supports the
recommendation not to base any conclusions
on the first year of monitoring directly after
kWh/m2.a
started. In Noorderplassen West most houses
Calculated use:
Measured use
CONCERTO
specification
160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
kWh/m2.a
-In Columbuskwartier however the
National
regulation
-20
-40
Planned
realisation.
National
regulation
Measured use
CONCERTO
specification
0
-20
-40
Realised
Planned
Realised
In Viladecans both the newly built Day
that this is due to the fact that Can Xic was a
Variation of consumption in Ajaccio and Milton
care centre La Pineda, and the refurbished
refurbishment project, and that the “first year
Keynes
Cultural Centre Can Xic have been built
monitoring effect” is only a problem for newly
In Ajaccio, reference monitoring was
according to the CONCERTO specifications,
built developments.
done for the re-built apartments in Rue
and show a large improvement over national
regulation. Monitoring data, only from the
preferrably “not to be used” first year, show
that Can Xic performs in line with the upfront
expectation, while energy use in La Pineda is
significantly higher. A possible explanation is
de la Porta in the historic city centre. In
!
addition, a measurement programme
To ensure a sufficient and high
was set up to measure SHW yield, hot tap
quality data set at least a two
water consumption and heat consumption.
year monitoring period is
Unfortunately, due to hiccups during the
needed.
start-up only a limited part of the collected
data could be used for the analyses.
72
What was striking from the reference
Vizion Apartment Monthly Heat Consumption in kWh/m2
monitoring of the old building was that
Based on 40 apartments
electricity consumption showed a huge
25.00
spread from apartment to apartment.
A similar picture was found during the
monitoring of the monthly electricity
20.00
consumption of 40 individual apartments
variations were observed in the heat use after
renovation for 15 monitored households in
Monte e Mare, Ajaccio.
Monte e Mare and Pinnacle – The real story behind
Heat in kWh/m2
in Milton Keynes, and even more extreme
15.00
10.00
5.00
the results
In Monte e Mare measured heating
0.00
consumption and solar hot water
Aug - 10
Sep - 10
Oct - 10
Nov - 10
production were available. The solar hot
Dec - 10
Jan - 11
Feb - 11
Mar - 11
Months
water production is reasonably in line with
expectations. The heat consumption seems
much lower than expected. However, it
For Pinnacle, in Milton Keynes, the calculated
The figure on the average final energy
turns out that the national averages and
results are in line with the predefined
consumption in the new Vizion residential
expected 15% improvement in efficiency
CONCERTO targets. However the measured
buildings shows the heat, hot water and
from the national average (the CONCERTO
actual heat and electricity demand were
electricity demand are all found to be at
specification) is far away from being a
higher, while only 50% of the office and
par with CONCERTO targets and shows a
realistic picture of the situation before
retail areas were occupied. Full occupation
tremendous reduction compared to the valid
renovation. The national average is for the
would at least further increase the electricity
national regulation.
whole of France, while Ajaccio is situated in
use. Analysis of the profile of electricity
one of the warmest areas in France.
however showed that the night-time demand
rarely falls below 50% of the daytime peak,
indicating that a lot of equipment and/or
Calculated use:
kWh/m2.a
160
National
regulation
Measured use
CONCERTO
specification
lighting is not turned off. Finally, zooming in
both significant cooling and heating takes
Combined Heat & Power plant and Vizion
120
building at par
100
The electrical generation efficiency for the
80
CHP was found to be 37% while thermal
60
efficiency was 30%. This corresponds to
40
manufacturer’s nominal efficiency levels of
20
42% (electrical) and 43% (thermal). There is a
0
degree of over-sizing of the central plant to
-20
accommodate future expansion. So, often,
-40
only one of the machines is required to meet
Realised
the demand, operating on part load for
significant periods.
250
place year round.
140
Planned
Calculated use:
to the monthly totals shows strikingly that
National
regulation
Measured use
CONCERTO
specification
200
150
100
50
0
kWh/m2.a
Annual energy use in Monte e Mare residential
Annual energy use in the Vizion
buildings – residential
-50
Planned
Realised
73
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
—
A learning history
From simple idea to detailed plan
Getting a grip on sustainability
Managing Columbus’ egg
The discovery of a sustainable community
Columbuskwartier Almere
This chapter is based
on “Columbuskwartier,
de ontdekking van
een duurzame wijk”,
DuurzaamheidsLab,
Gemeente Almere, May
2009.
5.1
A learning history
The neighbourhood, as well as the district, is
remarkable in many ways for both the city of Almere and
Almere planning
the Netherlands. Sustainability was taken into account
Almere, as a young city, has been consciously planned
in all life cycle phases (development, realisation, use,
for the past forty years and is still developing today
and maintenance).
notwithstanding the recession. It has been – and
74
still is – a continuous process of brainstorming,
A learning history with partners
designing, construction, experience and change.
The development has been very instructive, both in
Columbuskwartier, a neighbourhood in the new Almere
terms of content and process. This motivated the
Poort district, is part of that process.
intensive evaluation of the effectiveness and successes
“The Columbuskwartier is Almere’s
most important showcase in the
cRRescendo project. In anticipation
of the Almere Principles - which
were published in 2008 - renewable
energy sources were explored and
sustainability was implemented
way beyond the conventional
ecological concepts. Almere Poort
and Columbuskwartier or more
specifically the community The
Marvel in Columbuskwartier South
is as sustainable as you can get on
the district and community level
anno 2012. It is well worth to be
discovered.”
Emil ter Horst, cRRescendo project
manager for Almere
of the sustainable development tools used
metropolitan area. A newly assembled dune area will
in Columbuskwartier. For instance with a
complement the current polder landscape.
multi-actor analysis and a Learning History,
in cooperation with the Dutch national
All four residential neighbourhoods have their
innovation programme for building (PSI-
own characteristics: Europakwartier will offer
Bouw), public-private partnerships such
modern, urban living. Columbuskwartier will be a
as the regional Nieuw Flevolands Peil, and
comfortable, suburban and very sustainable residential
The Netherlands Organisation of Applied
neighbourhood. Homeruskwartier will consist of many
Scientific Research TNO. The evaluation
private (individual) developmental projects, while
showed that already during the preparation
Olympiakwartier will offer city centre facilities.
phase a stage for parties to meet and initiate
new development projects in Almere was
From a sustainable district to the most sustainable
born. The evaluation also showed that real
neighbourhood
estate developer TBI/Koopmans was the
The focus on sustainability was chosen when Almere
most important private stakeholder.
Poort was very first planned. For the initial plans, an
Environmental Impact Report was made, to point out
the Most Eco-friendly Alternative from the different
5.2
scenarios for the area’s development - on the basis
of value to future generations. This Eco-friendly
Quality and sustainability
Alternative proved sufficiently strong, and was
Almere Poort is the city’s fourth major
accepted by the city council as the preferential choice.
development area after (Almere) Haven,
Stad and Buiten. These earlier built districts
have provided Almere with large quantities
of houses but little diversity. In developing
Almere Poort the goals were driven by quality
instead of quantity and the desire to give
Almere a more urban feel. The 1999 Structural
Plan Almere Poort assigned sustainability as key in
future development. Columbuskwartier was designated
to become the most sustainable neighbourhood within
the district Poort.
From sandy lowland to a lively district
The area used to be sandy reclaimed land from the
IJsselmeer (IJ-lake). Now it has transformed into an
attractive and highly varied area. People can live, work
and do sports, right at the waterfront. It is transforming
into an urban area with ample space, and opportunities
for recreation, relaxation, and for a rich, fulfilling life.
Almere Poort consists of four residential areas, several
business parks, and a centrally located public park,
surrounded by water and green areas. By developing
the coastal zone, Almere is aiming itself towards the
waterfront. Residences as well as catering and options
for leisure will be constructed alongside the IJ-Lake. The
area is turning into the beach town of the Amsterdam’s
the discovery of a sustainable community
Urban design plan of Columbuskwartier (2005)
75
Overview of the development
The Marvel, from final design
to realized
Based on this Eco-Alternative the residential
neighbourhoods and business parks of Poort were
5.3From ambitious idea to detailed
integral sustainable urban plan
developed. Each neighbourhood was studied to evaluate
sustainable options. Al improvements have been
In contrast to traditional renewable projects and policy
established on environment themes like energy, noise,
which look at separate environmental factors, the
water, and ecology. An excellent example is the energy
development of Columbuskwartier took an integral
supply to Almere Poort: a >90% reduction in carbon
approach: sustainable development of an urban
dioxide emission has been reached.
community along the entire spectrum of ecological,
physical, social and economic factors. The key question
Almere Poort overview map
was: how to interpret the concept of sustainability
In 1999, the plan for the Almere Poort area was to realize a
factually, spatially and methodically.
very versatile area with approximately 10,000 residences,
76
300-400,000 m2 floor space for offices, and 115 hectare of
Sustainable ingredients / building materials / elements
business area for 20,000 jobs. Approximately 80 hectare
A municipal project team was given the assignment
was planned for sport and leisure activities, and 35
to work out this key question. The first essential
hectare for other public facilities. In 2005, Almere Poort
step was to define sustainability. The internationally
Business Plan described how to enrich the original urban
recognized definition of sustainability interpreted with
development plan. This new structural plan influenced
the Triple-P Approach provided a useful framework to
the final design of Columbuskwartier. A truly integral
realise and further refine this concept. With this the
approach to sustainability was born for the first time in
step to concrete spatial developments specific to the
Europe at this scale.
local situation however could not be made yet. Global
Open rainwater system creates
semi-private terraces at the
front side of the dwellings, in
close contact with the public
space
Bicycle path; cars can not enter
the inside of the neighbourhood
concepts like climate change, pollution, quality of
life and future prospects, did not mobilise sufficient
support on its own. Therefore the project team
developed a list of more applicable definitions including
an array of options for spatial or physical ingredients.
And the list would cover all aspects of sustainability.
Describing environmental aspects was already
challenging, but this certainly also counted for
describing the social and economic aspects of
sustainability. Engaging external expertise did lead to
better understanding, but still no progress to municipal
practice was made. Alex van Oost, senior staff member
Sustainable Building and Energy at the department responsible
Physical and ecological sustainability are necessary conditions
for environmental policy: “A special task was to elaborate on
for social sustainability. Consequently, we set goals for
the socially-sustainable character of the district, the “People”
sustainable construction techniques, use of energy and water,
part. Research on lifestyle and daily activity schedules
ecological aspects and noise reduction. Creating a visibly
made us focus on the combination of work, family care and
sustainable district was a special item of attention.”
household management. Another goal was to build houses
to accommodate people of all ages and lifestyles. We paid
Sustainability Compass
special attention to design public spaces according to criteria
In the years 2005-2008 it became very clear that integral
of interactional experience, safety as well as attractiveness.
sustainable city planning does not happen overnight.
77
Knowledge instruments and tools for sustainable urban
helps to determine sustainable ambitions and puts a
planning such as the National Package (1999) and local
figure to sustainable achievements of a district. The
Blueprints for Sustainable Building were inadequate.
Cascade Park close to Columbuskwartier was designed
The project needed its own practical and flexible
in 2007 using both instruments.
supporting tools that would provide full information
from the very start of city plan development projects
and could adjust to specific needs during the process.
5.4 Getting a grip on sustainability
This firstly resulted in a sustainability matrix, much
like a reference document. The matrix subdivides
The city Council was focused on developing social
sustainability in three dimensions: People, Planet and
sustainability. The project team spent much attention
Prosperity. Within each of these dimensions, spatial
on researching the options for spatial city planning in
aspects relevant for sustainable city planning were
relation to daily life, life style and consumer-directed
listed categorically. The matrix was used for the first
construction. This research formed the basis for items
time in the development plan for Columbuskwartier.
like social cohesion, quality of life, social security and
Later it helped in the assessment of the tenders for the
child friendliness. The KinderPath is a concrete and
southern part of the district.
unique result, which became the social backbone of the
neighbourhood.
This method was further developed together
with the Saxion College, leading to a prototype
Until then, it was common practice to combine
for the Sustainability Compass. Insights from the
technical, schematic and financial aspects with
Columbuskwartier planning process were absorbed
spatial aspects to create a detailed blueprint plan
into the Compass and validated in practice, thereby
of areal division. That was also the initial set-up for
creating a solid instrument applicable in Almere’s
Columbuskwartier. However, in search of quality and
context. Alex van Oost: “We were literally learning on the job.
innovation, the Council decided to pioneer along a
The Sustainability Compass became an important supportive
different line. A framework plan was developed, in
instrument. It gives us insight into technical realization,
which only a spatial framework was laid out, in which
investments and management aspects of various ambitions.
construction sites could later be filled in. The framework
It facilitates efficient and results-oriented working within the
served to create cohesion between construction sites.
project team. It not just describes ideas and ambition levels,
Subareas were merely given a scheme and a set of basic
it shows how to achieve them and gives insight into costs and
rules for further elaboration. This way the Council
benefits.”
intended to allow the market to bring forth more quality
and creativity. The framework approach was a turning
Meanwhile the Compass has evolved into a web-
point. It served as a valuable basis for achieving the
based computer tool linked to the widely used Dutch
degree of sustainability in Columbuskwartier.
Sustainability Profile of a Location. This instrument
Solar Houses and Eco-houses
called The Playery, artist
impression and reality
78
Solar Houses for house-owners
around the KinderPath
KinderPath through the
community with unique
playgrounds (left)
More SolarHouses at the
outside of the community,
where cars may park (right)
Tendering and co-creation in the southern part
well as a certain amount of freedom in their designs was a
However, much had happened before all of this. Almere
breakthrough for the project. In assessing their designs, just 10
decided on a tender procedure in order to attract
out of 100 points were scored for sustainability. At that time
appropriate partners. Former Alderman Arie Willem
it was the best feasible. But things have changed. Take the
Bijl expected the market to bring in much knowledge
Cascade Park. In the design contest for housing development
and creativity, and believed that tendering would be
no less than 50% of the score is based on a vision on sustainable
the best method to stimulate this. Alex van Oost: “I have
construction. We”re evolving! Ultimately almost all concepts
always believed in the call for tenders to raise knowledge and
submitted for Columbuskwartier were of high quality, and
stimulate creativity. To give developers a set of criteria as
better than I had expected. Despite the low number of points
79
of very low-energy houses in one project in the rented
People making the city in
Columbuskwartier
sector was new in the Netherlands. But the level of
integral sustainability obtained in the southern part
The Marvel, was not achieved.
See also chapter 1 (page 14)
EC subsidy as an enabler for quality and persistence
The European grant for the cRRescendo project within
the CONCERTO programme proved of great value.
The grant was elaborated into a binding contract in
2005. This contract became part of the development
plan, which later became of critical importance to
safeguard the physical sustainability ambitions of
Children showing their
sustainable wishes in
Columbus’ Egg
Columbuskwartier. The subsidy we received financially
supported our sustainability ambitions, for instance
to the many solar-powered houses. But European
recognition made the project position with the
city Council stronger, and also showed developers
we had something real to offer. In other projects in
Almere Poort, the ambitions were downscaled during
implementation, but not in the Columbuskwartier!
Looking back, success has many fathers. What and/
or who balanced “the Egg of Columbus” so successfully
through time? All success factors could have killed the
that could be granted, all plans focused on the sustainability
project if they had not been in place: the call for tender,
criteria. It was clear to me our sustainable ambitions stimulated
the arbitration, the new Alderman Adri Duivesteyn
the market.”
continuing this specific urban development, the
inspiring staff members, or the subsidy from the EC. Or
Traditional but ambitious development in the northern part
was it the unique ambition of the real estate developer?
In Almere Poort, three styles of urban development
Jos Ensink, project manager at TBI/Koopmans. “For me it is
were explored, differing in content and process: firstly
clear that the municipal project leader Aleida Winkelman is the
tendering and co-creation in the southern part of
most important factor for the overall success of the project.
Columbuskwartier. In the northern part there was room
Ambitions are easily put on paper by a municipality at the
for conventional ambitious development as well as
start and promises are easily made by a developer. But during
private (individual) contracting (relatively new for the
implementation ambitions are easily lost when they have to be
Netherlands).
translated from the patient paper to the much harder practice.
Aleida Winkelman took the time to understand our problems
In the northern part building areas were awarded to
during implementation. She went for advise to municipality staff
project developers that had construction contracts in
for solving problems which emerged, and used her power when
other parts of Almere Poort as compensation for halted
it was needed. It was an excellent example of co-development by
projects elsewhere in Almere.
municipality and real estate developer. Without her persistent
This resulted in a plan with over 100 Passive Homes.
attention and skills from the very beginning until the first
Emil ter Horst: “The ambition in the southern part of
delivery of houses in 2008, the integral sustainable quality of
Columbuskwartier clearly stimulated the Passive houses – an
The Marvel would have been much lower.”
initiative of BAM – to go significantly beyond the quality level
we had set in the south.” Construction of this large number
80
Looking back, success has many
fathers but, according to most
stakeholders in the development
process, only one mother: the
understanding, solving but
persistent project manager
for the neighbourhood Aleida
Winkelman.
Managing Columbus’ Egg
For example we listed the minimal numbers of new
residences and the percentage of social housing, but not
Aleida Winkelman-van Doornum, Municipal project
the division of dwellings across price segments.”
manager Columbuskwartier (2003- 2008), Almere:
Much interest
Columbus’ Egg
“Eventually, the tender procedure went smoothly.
“In Columbuskwartier, we wanted to attain the most
We raised much interest among all national major
extensive level of sustainability. A true community of the
development and housing corporations to register
future. At first no one in the project team found a solution
for the procedure’s quality selection phase. Based on
for The Egg of Columbus. We had high ambitions, but we
predetermined criteria such as solvency and previous
lacked the specific expert knowledge required to clarify
projects (references), we selected five corporations for the
the broadly defined ambitions. And we could not easily
second phase of the procedure to work out an actual plan.”
attract this knowledge from elsewhere. What we wanted
had never before been done in our country. Especially our
High quality
broad definition of sustainability proved to be an issue. We
“This resulted in a broad range of plans, all of high quality.
were not looking for technical and architectural aspects
We predefined a scoring system in which criteria for
alone; we wanted to make a neighbourhood that would
quality made up half of the score. Within these quality
be sustainable on a social level too. What is that? And how
criteria, we did not prioritize one specific aspect. This also
were we going to make that visible and objective?”
applied to sustainability, which in our opinion already was
the basis for the development plan of Columbuskwartier.
!
Make your ambitions concrete and
Ultimately, this decision turned against us when we
objective.
compared the final scores for all plans: they scored close
to each other. At first, the plan by TBI/Koopmans did
not win but seemed a good second choice. We had our
People, Planet, Prosperity
doubts about the financial support for TBI’s excellent plan
“We did better after taking the People, Planet, Prosperity
for public areas containing large numbers of exceptional
concept on board. This directly led to e.g. the idea for
public elements. When TBI questioned our appraisal
the KinderPath: a safe and carless trail providing access
and asked the arbitrator, they were granted right: it was
to residences, schools and facilities. The trail enables
not our responsibility to pass judgment on the financial
residents to easily combine daily tasks such as care
support.
and work, and will in fact be crossing the heart of the
Although the arbitration procedure resulted in a delay, TBI
neighbourhood passing by many meeting points and
Bouw/Koopmans and Almere ultimately worked together
playgrounds.”
well and intensively. The developer wished to frequently
!
consult with us about the specific implementation.
Think about the reward you offer in the
Looking back, I found this very satisfactory.”
tender process to commercial businesses.
Our second-round reward amounted to
20,000 euro for each plan. Looking back, this
To repeat the success
“Now you can walk around the community. And you can
may have been too little compensation for high-quality
feel that especially The Marvel and its public areas are truly
plans.
exceptional.” Citizens express their enthusiasm as well:
“This is different than other Almere districts! Without the
Call for tenders
call for tenders, we might not have been able to achieve
“To us this was a whole new way of thinking. We were
these optimal quality and sustainability aspects while
used to design public areas ourselves, and make detailed
maintaining to offer buyers and tenants reasonable
plans of land subdivision. Now all we could do was list
prices. In the end, the city has saved time and money on
the conditions and leave the rest to external parties.
planning and arranging and subdividing land.”
How much freedom were we willing to give tender
participators? Eventually we settled for the golden mean.
81
Empowering the community
F
or socio-economic research and monitoring a number of indicators were originally
proposed by the uniquely integral EC CONCERTO programme. These indicators served as
a general frame in which ideally research in each project was supposed to conform. Eight
issues were distinguished. In some of these areas, the goal was to find the percentage of people
(predominantly households) reacting positively to the CONCERTO measures.
Social dimension:
1Degree of satisfaction / acceptance by inhabitants / tenants /
2 owners Level of information & direct participation
3 Active/proactive tenants behaviour
Environmental dimension:
4Improvement of CONCERTO district environment and internal comfort level
Economic dimension:
5 Economic-ecologic cost effectiveness
6Increase in local control of energy supply / local energy production due to CONCERTO measures
7 Stimulation of local economy
8Pay Back Period (Investor side)
Social & Policy
Context
Direct
Education and
Training
Public
Engagement
Activities
Occupant
Surveys
Stakeholder
Interviews
Ajaccio
üüü
ü
ü
ü
ü
Almere
ü
üü
üüü
üü
üü
Milton Keynes
üü
ü
üüü
ü
üü
ü
Socio-economics
From a cRRescendo perspective, the
CONCERTO indicators had a poor fit with
most of the local projects. Nevertheless,
cRRescendo cities contributed information
on 87.5% of the CONCERTO indicators. On
the other hand many of the most relevant
issues of local interest during cRRescendo on
Viladecans
üüü
education, public events, and information on
the policy context were not well covered by
Distribution and magnitude of cRRescendo social research methods and results
CONCERTO.
Almere is one of the cities that successfully
NMFF are outlined in the dedicated Final
building, the occupants in the Pinnacle office
Social Research Report.
building, and the participants in a workshop
on the solar PV array. In addition, Oxford
hired a local social research partner that
University did a stakeholder analysis.
undertook independent research and
Milton Keynes also successfully hired a local
activities interactively with the central social
social research partner that undertook
research coordinator. The local partner,
independent research and activities
The social research in Ajaccio covers relevant
NMFF, did an excellent job of engaging the
interactively with the central social research
initiatives and priorities in relation to housing,
public in the cRRescendo areas. In particular,
coordinator. The local social partner, USEA,
construction, energy efficiency and micro
there were a number of creative activities
carried out a number of social research
generation – both at the French national level
directed toward engaging children in the
projects in close cooperation with the social
and in terms of Corsica as an island in its own
renewable and efficient attributes of their
research coordinator Oxford University.
right. Additional resident surveys focused on
neighbourhoods. The full list of social
Together, these entities developed surveys
people’s general understanding and familiarity
research related documents prepared by
for the residents in the Vizion apartment
with technology, rather than on their response
82
(64% response rate). The survey contained
The majority (74%) of the respondents (as in
a total of 79 questions, 57 of which were
the Vizion resident survey) did not know the
displayed to all participants and 22 only
building was connected to a combined heat
revealed depending upon the answers to
and power network. Similarly, more than half
certain questions.
(54%) did not know the building was designed
to be energy efficient. Nevertheless, 58% of the
The standard survey included questions
respondents said they thought the building
on the following key aspects of the indoor
was performing efficiently.
environment:
- Office Layout
Overview
- Office Furnishings
The table on the left shows the different social
- Thermal Comfort
research strategies pursued in each partner
to having technology installed in their own
- Air Quality
city, with check marks indicating the type,
homes.
- Lighting
and the magnitude and relative success of the
- Acoustic Quality
effort devoted to different strategies. All cities
The Council of Viladecans commissioned an
- Cleanliness and Maintenance
did more than one form of social research,
extensive energy awareness and behaviour
- General Comments
although each city tended to concentrate its
efforts in one area. Depending on the type of
research performed by unemployed people,
covering a large proportion of the inhabitants
An additional section about energy was also
research, some cities did more vigorous work
in the entire city. Furthermore in a poll 330
included asking whether occupants were
or produced more rigorous results than others.
interviews were collected in dwellings.
aware and supportive of different aspects of
More on socio-economic research can be
Questions focussed on surface area, number
the cRRescendo measures. Overall, the survey
found in the community chapters of this book.
of occupants, heating, cooling, water, lighting,
data show that the building is performing
In addition the socio-economic work is also
electrical appliances, kitchen, renewable
well, except in the area of thermal comfort and
well summarised in the downloadable and
energies, and invoices. The analysis of the
acoustical quality.
elaborate cRRescendo Evaluation Report.
interviews was done by Agencia d”Ecologia
Urbana. Finally, surveys were done to
dwellings built before 1976.
Satisfaction in Core Survey Categories
In the second half of 2010, 10.000 interviews
on energy consumption associated with
General Satisfaction Building (79%)
different kinds of urbanism and building
typologies were performed, while in
another study the water, gas and electricity
Thermal Comfort (30%)
Acoustic Quality (30%)
Office Layout (62%)
Air Quality (44%)
Office Furnischings (75%)
Cleanliness and Maintenance (61%)
consumption of all public buildings of the
Viladecans Municipality was analysed.
As an illustrative example the survey in the
office building in Milton Keynes is elucidated
below.
Occupant Survey Pinnacle Building
In summer 2012, 130 staff members working
in the Pinnacle building were invited to
participate in a web-based survey about their
workspace. Of the 130 potential respondents,
Lighting (64%)
83 completed online surveys were received
Graph showing the percentage of satisfied responses for each category in Milton Keynes
83
6
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
Four cRRescendo cities
Diversity of projects in the different communities
EU policy lessons
Local policy and project level lessons
The building sector lessons
Bridging recessions
Results, lessons and recommendations
6.1 Four cRRescendo cities
Based on the monitoring results collected in the first
84
In Almere over 2000 dwellings have been built within
monitoring year, the Almere cRRescendo project has
cRRescendo. Homes have been built in three efficiency
saved 31% (14 GWh) of primary energy compared to
categories: “eco”, “solar” and “passive”. Monitoring
a business as usual situation. The number does not
results show that overall the performance of the homes
include high carbon reduction (up to over 90%) due to
is well in line with the expectations. For Eco Houses
cogeneration in Almere and by green electricity in the
the heat consumption tends to be even lower than
community Columbuskwartier. The floor area of the
specified, because they were brought up to the same
homes ended up larger than originally anticipated.
insulation level as the Solar Houses. In addition, the
This happened especially in NPW and to the largest
Solar Island has been built, producing enough heat for
extent in the areas where private commissioners built
the tap water needs for some 1000 households. The
their houses. Such effects could cause the total energy
yield is 1.2 GJ/m2, which is equal to that of individual
demand for homes to keep rising, despite a substantial
collectors.
increase in efficiency.
cRRescendo
Solar Houses next to the kidfriendly KinderPath in Almere
(left)
The popular Vizion residence
showing the path towards a
zero-carbon future in Milton
Keynes (right)
It was not without a struggle
but cRRescendo finally opened
the minds for sustainability in
Ajaccio (left)
PV solar energy illuminates
at night the football facilities
building Torre Roja in
Viladecans (right)
In Milton Keynes a new apartment building with 441
apartments, 0.1 GWhprim savings have been achieved
apartments and a new commercial building have been
for these apartments. For 12% of the apartments overall
built. In addition, a 3 MWe combined heat and power
heat and solar hot water measurements were done. It
generation plant is now in operation. The apartments
can be concluded that 30% of the heat was supplied by
perform in line with CONCERTO specifications, but
renewable energy.
the commercial buildings consume substantially more
electricity as well as heat. The CHP is performing at
In Viladecans two public service buildings have been
a lower efficiency level than foreseen due to larger
newly built and two buildings have been refurbished.
periods of partial load operation than foreseen.
One municipal technical service building is still to be
Nonetheless, based on the monitoring results to date,
built. Preliminary results of monitoring of the four
30% primary energy (5.8 GWhprim) has been saved in
buildings show mixed performances, varying from
the project compared to business as usual. This includes
5% increase in primary energy consumption of day
the reduction due to the CHP and to the PV-system on
care centre la Pineda to 25% reduction for refurbished
the bus station that has been built in the fall of 2011.
Cultural Center Pablo Picasso. The PV-system (117 kWp)
performs according to expectations.
In Ajaccio mostly refurbishment of apartment buildings,
Based on the monitoring results to date: 0.5 GWhprim
in total some 420 apartments, has taken place. The
primary energy has been saved in the project. These
most ambitious building, the new public service office
savings are primarily due to the 117 kWp PV-system.
building unfortunately is being built after the project.
Based on monitoring results of 30% of the refurbished
85
Overview of cRRescendo as built up to 2012
Almere
Milton Keynes
Ajaccio
Viladecans
Number of homes built /
improved
2093 new single family
dwellings and
329 apartments
441 new apartments
419 apartments
refurbished and
8 apartments newly built
-
Number of other
buildings realised
Several schools, day care
and healthcare centres
combined 31,533 m2 of
space (53 units)
commercial buildings
combined 33,336 m2 of
space
1000 m2 of public office
building to be realised
in 2014
3 new public service
buildings 2 refurbished
public service buildings
total of 9,224 m2
Renewable energy
realised
7135 m2 nett/ 7800 m2
gross Solar Island,
689 kWp PV
165 kWp PV
346 m2 solar collectors,
5.5 kWp PV
191 m2 solar collectors,
239 kWp PV
Polygeneration realised
City district heating
extended and improved
to low-carbon
3042 kWe CHP
-
-
Approximate measured
primary energy savings
14 GWh (31%)*
5.8 GWh (30%)
0.11 GWh
0.5 GWh
Approximate energy from
RES
12% heat in 1st; 20%
electricity in 2nd
community2
3% of electricity
23% of heat;
Electricity not measured
100% of electricity
* without primary energy saving by cogeneration; 100% green electricity not taken into account.
6.2Diversity of projects in the different
communities
number of solar PV systems are large compared with the
For Almere, project primary energy savings are
It is interesting to note that electricity is becoming the
substantial both in % as in GWhprim, primarily
largest share of primary energy in buildings. For the
achieved by increasing efficiency in buildings but also a
services sector this was already the case in the reference
significant portion in renewable heat.
situation, but with efficient buildings this is now also
For Milton Keynes savings are considerable both in % as
the case for residential buildings, even in northern
in GWhprim, to a modest extent by increasing efficiency
climates like the Netherlands and the UK.
cRRescendo buildings.
in buildings and to a large extent by efficient generation
of heat and electricity by the CHP.
The most efficient homes built are the passive homes in
For Ajaccio, projected primary energy savings compared
Almere, with a total final energy consumption of about
to business as usual are comparatively modest but
70 kWh/m2. The most efficient non-residential building
nonetheless significant, based on efficiency measures
is refurbished Cultural Center Can Amat in Viladecans,
as well as renewable energy, both heat and electricity.
with (based on preliminary data) a total final energy
For Viladecans, the percentage of primary energy
consumption of more than 90 kWh/m2.
savings is huge in % and modest in GWhprim, primarily
86
achieved by renewable electricity and to a modest
For three out of five non-residential buildings
extent by efficiency measures, simply because the
monitored consumption turned out to be significantly
cRRescendo
larger than expected. Even though discrepancies could
Knowledge sharing
be caused by something as basic as operational hours,
Knowledge sharing, an important topic within
it clearly shows the need to monitor, understand and
cRRescendo, has known some downs, but definitely
manage the consumption in non-residential buildings.
contributed to the success of the project. During the
project we have learned that partners and stakeholders
are “open” for receiving new knowledge at certain
6.3 EU Policy lessons
(specific) moments, but that it also worked out
differently than anticipated before when writing the
Complex project management
contract.
cRRescendo has been a long (7 years) and complex
Recommendations for future projects:
project which proved to be an enormous task to manage.
-Focus the knowledge sharing in future projects
Furthermore many partners mention that the project
around the start and end date of the project. At the
has also been heavy in an administrative way, creating
start the EC could demand all partners to take note of
a lot of overhead costs. On the other hand we should
the current state of affairs and best practices in the
also see that this project delivered many great results
participating countries/the EU. And at the end of the
that without the support of CONCERTO would never
project the focus could be on dissemination of results
have been there. The amount of knowledge sharing and
learning was high.
and lessons learned.
-Reserve a specific and separate budget for
Another lesson learned during this project was that
dissemination for AFTER the moment the project is
refurbishment projects with a high ambition are actually
fully finalized. We recommend to provide this budget
even more difficult than new construction projects,
as the interests of the existing occupants need to be
through a separate application.
-For monitoring we recommend the same approach.
incorporated and respected.
So separate specific time and budget for thorough
monitoring research AFTER the main project is
-Definitely continue with similar CONCERTO
finalised. This allows the technical partner to collect
programmes, but consider to reduce:
enough high quality data and focus on high quality
-the amount of partners/communities per project
analyses. Furthermore and just as important the
-the amount of deliverables/reports
monitoring research in cRRescendo has proved that
-The overall coordinator had too little effective
construction projects and (new) house owners need
instruments to steer all partners
There is not a single
EU-wide harmonised
solution for success, but
knowledge transfer within
EU projects has proven to
be very valuable to speed
up energy transition in
other cities.
some time to settle: monitoring data becomes more
stable and reliable after the first year.
Financial project management
Within cRRescendo the so-called “Clause 41” has turned
-Try to base the knowledge sharing in future project on
a more scientific basis.
out to be one of the most important drivers for success.
Without this clause it would have been necessary for all
Knowledge sharing between EC projects
commercial/building parties to disclose their financial
The work of CONCERTO Plus and later Premium has
accounts and keep separate administrative accounts.
been very useful. This counts for the reports, but
Furthermore the exact calculation of the “additional
especially for the meetings that were organised for
costs” of sustainability is an impossible task. Clause
exchange of CONCERTO projects.
41 enabled parties to claim their costs based on actual
The transfer from the CONCERTO Plus to the CONCERTO
performance. A disadvantage of this instrument is that
Premium organisation could have been planned
the financing/subsidy for the commercial realisation
better in advance as this inevitably lead to loss of
partners only comes in at a very late stage in the project.
knowledge. The EU wide activities with meetings in
At that stage the money does not give that extra push in
Brussels and the overall monitoring are perceived as
the right direction anymore for which it was intended.
very useful. Additionally the regional events organised
by CONCERTO Plus in the first years were also very
Find ways for ways to finance realisation work earlier in the
informative. Unfortunately these events were not
process, without increasing the risk of bad performance.
organised anymore by the CONCERTO Premium.
87
-Organise both knowledge sharing on EU level and on a
more regional level.
-Reintroduce the regional CONCERTO Plus/Premium
-Acknowledge the fact that these types of projects
inherently contain a lot of differences and that not
one harmonised solution or approach provides a
guarantee for success.
meetings.
Observer cities
6.4 Local policy and project level lessons
The cooperation with the participating Observer cities
has also been one with ups and downs, but finally with
Translating EU demands and international differences to
good results. It was difficult to keep the Observers
successful local projects
interested throughout the whole project. This may be
A fundamental problem for projects like cRRescendo is
caused by the length (7 years!) of the project. Lessons
how to translate complex EU requirements to the local
learned from this are that every partner/Observer needs
practice without having to many risks.
an own specific interest in order to actively participate
Within cRRescendo, e.g. to minimise risks payments
during the whole running time of the project.
were only made after a certain activity was already
Eventually, we were able to attract the observers’
finished; but at this late moment the direct added value
attention again by demonstrating the results of the
to the building process is unfortunately lower. Project
projects in four main cities in the fifth and sixth year,
developers have told us that they sometimes got the
and by showing ways to increase their own direct gain
feeling that the (big) contribution they made to the
in the project.
success of the project was not always balanced with the
financial support received. Recommendations for future
-Keep on involving other cities through the “Observer”
projects:
construction in future projects.
-For next projects we recommend to work out a
-At kick-off observers can be active in peer-reviewing
detailed plan about the flow of money throughout
and excursions to example communities. The special
the project directly at the start of the project. And
connection does lead to results in future projects and
make sure this plan integrates the interests of all
policy that would not happen otherwise.
-During the mid of the project the Observers’ attention
participants, is fair and is understood by all partners.
-Project finance can be made simpler by using very
must be drawn by special dedicated sessions and
straightforward rules like: a partner will get this
presentations during the annual project meetings.
amount of money as soon as a specific set of criteria is
-Use instruments to revive the interest at the end
Be aware of the difference
between new construction
(address building
companies!) and renovation
projects (address house
occupants!) when selecting
the most appropriate
instruments to reach your
goal.
met.
when results and lessons learnt become available.
Communication and dissemination
Cherish Diversity
It has a great value for a project to have one (or more)
We have learned within this project that there is no such
real icons for sustainability. This can create both local
thing as one blueprint or approach for all communities.
acquaintance and involvement of the local community,
The main reason for this is that the local situation,
and also national or even international awareness of the
policies, laws, economy, and cultures often differ too
project. Furthermore such an icon can also be a good
much to be truly comparable. But is this an issue, and
tool for showing your vision behind the project.
does this mean we cannot learn from each other? The
In Almere for example the Solar Island has been such an
answer is: no but we have to be realistic.
icon. It has attracted a lot of attention and visitors to
When the CONCERTO initiative was prepared in
the Almere project, both national as international.
2003, the vision was based on a more harmonised
We also learned that good communication moments
ideal of paving the way to an energy neutral Europe.
arise when physical milestones (such as “first stone/
The practise of CONCERTO has however given us an
pole”, completion of the building, etc.) are reached. These
extremely important, but large cookbook with a large
need to be celebrated, so the communication plan could
palette of colourful solutions for every corner of Europe.
be built around these moments. Furthermore we learned
Recommendation for future projects:
that locally people seem to be open for communication,
88
cRRescendo
based factors in the process, instead of building
prescriptions.
The decision making process within renovation
projects is very different and more complicated than
for new construction projects. In renovation projects
often a majority vote is needed to accept the proposed
The Almere Solar Island is used
for communication to the local
community. European astronaut
Wubbo Ockels ( 2014) has
inaugurated the innovative
system and joins the festivity
together with Alderman
Steunenberg
renovation plans. In renovations the amount of subsidy
can directly influence the decision of the inhabitant. In
new construction projects subsidies are less effective,
than in renovation situations. In fact they only matter
in higher ambition projects, as the costs are then
substantially higher.
Another success approach considering the instruments
was aim for gradual and manageable improvements
in energy performance. By setting targets that are
only on the moments the information affects/benefits
one step higher than (but not way beyond) the current
them directly. Recommendations for future projects:
practice it proved to be possible reach great results, but
-Include icons for sustainability in future projects as
also without high additional costs or house prices. This
they draw the necessary attention both to the icon
approach also ensures that effective scale up possibilities
itself, but also to related project activities in the
exist while already proven technologies are used which
neighbourhood.
can benefit quickly from economies of scales and
-Set up a clear communication plan up front in which
connected price drops.
communication moments are smartly chosen (for
example around “milestone moments”).
-It is important to secure the participation of the city
mayors.
-Make a conscious choice for effective local instruments
to reach your goal. In our experience a performance
based element within this instrument can be an
Ensure sufficient knowledge on municipal level
This project has proved (in all communities, and observer
important and effective ingredient.
-Be aware of the difference between new construction
cities) that an active local government is key for success.
and renovation projects when selecting the most
The successes realized within cRRescendo would not
appropriate instruments to reach your goal. Incentives
have been possible without the input of the local politics.
in a renovation project need to focus directly on the
But on the other hand it became clear that to reach this
(many) occupants of the houses, while instruments in
a lot of (technical and social) knowledge was necessary.
a new to be built development can address mainly the
An example is the process of negotiating large contracts
with project developers. Here there is a great need of
skilled local civil servants. Another successful example
was the internal sustainability-lab in Almere with
technical expertise which can be called in on the fly at
real estate developers and building companies.
-Include (performance based) goals that are a step
ahead of the current practice, but still manageable to
ensure a (cost) efficient execution and scale up.
-Financial instruments can be very effective, but be
projects all over the city.
aware of possible unwanted side effects, and keep it
Recommendation for future projects:
simple to avoid difficulties during execution.
-Ensure sufficient knowledge on municipal level.
Effective local (performance based) instruments
6.5 The building sector lessons
We have seen several successful examples like a local
“carbon offset fund”, “ground quotes”, a “performance
Involvement of local building partners
based tender competition”, etc. A key success factor in
Because the building partners are the ones actually
these local instruments was the use of performance
realising the project, their positive contribution is vital
89
for the project success. At the start of cRRescendo it was
6.6 Bridging recessions
the intention to involve the local building companies
directly into the European project by making them
After 7 years of hard work cRRescendo has delivered not
partners. In practice the companies couldn”t or didn”t
only bricks and stones, installations, and monitoring
want to satisfy the accompanying demands like the
data, but also a lot of knowledge and lessons learned for
needed insight into their accounting systems and the
future projects.
yearly reporting requirements. This was comprehensible
The lessons and recommendations have been
from their perspective, but also caused that they
summarized along the levels described before. It was only
were less involved within the project. In general the
possible to draw such a set of conclusions because we
building companies want a level playing field and clear
took our research and studies serious.
agreements with the municipality. Financial incentives
Ecofys, Ademe and the University of Oxford have
are only helpful in developments with very high
developed standardised methods to monitor the
ambitions.
technical and non-technical issues of the project, in
order to be able to improve future replications of the
During cRRescendo we learned that the optimal mode
cRRescendo concept. Only sometimes the results were of
for cooperation between companies and the municipality
limited use; e.g. when partners were pressed for time so
differs with the level of ambition of the project:
the monitoring was performed during less than one year
-For relatively straightforward projects where the
(and therefore not really useful).
ambition is one step higher than the current practice,
Equal important to cRRescendo were professional
and when there is a good instrument to verify it (e.g.
training activities and dissemination: both internal
the current building code) the project can best be
(between the four partner communities) and external
arranged through a straightforward contract with the
(to associate communities and broad European level)
municipality. Incentives that are given must be effective
dissemination.
at the start of the project. A good example is a reduction
cRRescendo had a final dissemination activity in the
of the ground price.
successful “cRRescendo ConfeRRence, Step by step
-Projects with a high ambition, the icon projects, are
A municipality can set
up the cooperation and
agreement based on the
level of ambition of the
project. The higher the
ambition of the project the
more decisive the project
developer can be during
realization.
towards a carbon neutral built environment”, held in
often much more innovative and therefore much less
October 2011 in the city of Almere. The final conference
predictable. The building party can best be involved
was for a broad range of target groups (authorities,
in the project as a (real) project partner with its own
researchers, builders, project developers, architects,
budget/subsidy, giving the needed flexibility. But if the
etc.) and the proceedings can be found on:
ambitions are not met, the partner will not get paid.
www.cRRescendo.net
-Finally for projects in between (two steps ahead on
current practice) the cooperation could be more in the
We are proud that we were successful in engaging
form of a coproduction between the municipality and
the public in the cRRescendo communities and the
the project developer. These types of projects also need a
stakeholders in the local markets. Outreach to other
larger scale (than the icons) to have impact, and this type
citizens and local politics was such that we believe
of cooperation helps the parties to share risk together.
that crossing the recessions a new latent strong wish
Some of the most successful parts of the cRRescendo
originated for going all the way to a carbon free society
projects were the result of close co-development
as soon as possible. This strong commitment also calls
between the municipality and the project developers.
opposing forces, true, but they are not strong enough
to stop it. This is the new promise in the air at the end
of the recession: what a difference with 2003 when we
-At the start of the project work on a way to give the
started and everything was still so expensive and almost
building companies a clear and determining role within
experimental.
the project.
-Set up of the cooperation level based on ambition of the
project. The higher the ambition of the project developer
This chapter continues on page 10
the more decisive he can be during the realization.
90
cRRescendo
Annex I
Realised cRRescendo projects
p92 - p97
Annex II
p98 - p99
Annex III
Solar Potential in Europe
p100 - p101
91
Almere
Name
Almere Solar Island
Eco-apartments
Solar Apartments
Eco-houses
Community
Noorderplassen West
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
Area description
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Type built
Solar Thermal Plant
New Ecohouse (apartment)
New Solar House (apartment)
New Ecohouse (single family
dwelling)
(Service building)
114
83
69
Total gross area (m )
9,756
7,385
12,704
Average area per house (m2)
86
89
184
Measures in buildings
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
Energy certificate
EPC 0.8
EPC 0.62/ Cert. ZonneWoning
EPC < 0.8
District heating based on waste
heat
PV panels on less than half of the
apartments, District heating
based on waste heat
PV panels on half of the houses,
heat
Photo
Number of homes/buildings
Almere
2
Generation of renewable
power or heat
Solar Thermal Collectors (Output =
8.400-9.400 GJ/yr)
Solar thermal (m2) / pv (kWp)
7.800 m2
17 kWp in total
Remarks
Solar thermal plant is directly
connected to the district heating
system of Almere.
Apartments with PV are certified
Solar Houses (all apartments fulfil
the BEST table for solar houses).
Name
Health centre
Office building
Schools
Sports accommodation
Community
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
Area description
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Type built
Health Centre
Office
New primary schools
Sports Accomodation
3 functional units
1
6 functional units
1
Total gross area (m2)
625
45
5,178
1,071
Energy certificate
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
power or heat
heat
heat
heat
PV solar plant, District heating
based on waste heat
Photo
Average area per house (m )
2
44 kWp
Remarks
92
De Verwondering
Eco-apartments
Solar Apartments
Eco-houses
Solar Houses
Columbuskwartier
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New Solar House (single family
dwelling)
Eco Apartment
Solar Apartment
Eco House
Solar House
342
84
48
1,462
116
47,993
7,685
6,586
257,551
19,815
140
91
137
176
171
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
EPC 0.6; Cert. ZonneWoning
EPC 0.89
EPC 0.72
EPC 0.89
EPC 0.71 / None
PV panels on more than half of the
houses, District heating based on
waste heat
District heating based on Solar
Island and waste heat
325 kWp in total
The majority of the houses are
certified Solar Houses (all houses
fulfil the BEST table for solar
houses).
Apartments are not certified Solar
Houses but fulfil the BEST table for
solar houses.
Houses are not certified Solar
Houses but fulfil there quirements
for solar houses.
Day-care centre
Health centre
Shopping centre
Rented Passive Houses Goede Steede
CO2 Neutral House
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
Columbuskwartier
Columbuskwartier
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Child Day-care facilities
New health accomodations
New shops
New Passive Houses
CO2 neutral house
5 functional units
22 functional units
11 functional units
103
1
1,382
9,344
1,757
10,815
225
105
225
Extreme high insulation, Triple
glazing, Balanced ventilation with
heat recovery
Extreme high insulation, Triple
glazing, Balanced ventilation with
heat recovery
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
EPC 0.38/equal to Passive House
EPC 0.03
PV panels, District heating based
on waste heat
PV panels, District heating based on
waste heat, Small wind turbines
108 kWp in total
6,7 kWp
First serial built passive house
project in the rental sector in the
Netherlands.
PV has been architecually
integrated in the building façade.
cRRescendo
93
Almere
Name
International School Almere
Dependance De Windwijzer
Primary schools
Private contractors & other
Community
CascadePark-Poort
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West
Noorderplassen West and Poort
Area description
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Type built
New secondary school
New primary school
New primary schools
Private Commissioned & other
1
1
2
5,135
961
6,035
High insulation
High insulation
Unknown, only PV panels are part
of cRRescendo project.
Photo
2
Energy certificate
EPC < 0.80
power or heat
on waste heat
26 kWp
PV panels on main building De
Windwijzer, District heating based
on Solar Island and waste heat
PV panels on 3 houses, District
heating based on waste heat
47 kWp
9.9 kWp on 3 houses
Although not mandatory around
200 houses complied with the
ambitious cRRescendo standards.
Remarks
Name
Milton Keynes
Sustainable measures were not
mandatory. Only PV panels are
part of cRRescendo project.
CHP Thameswey
Vizion Residential
Sainsbury’s supermarket
Vizion Retail
Community
Central Milton Keynes C4.1 (Vizion)
Area description
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Type built
Combined heat and power plant
Residential building
Supermarket
Small retail stores
(Service building)
441 homes in 14 blocks
1
10
26,887
10.000
3.000
Photo
2
Average area per house (m )
61
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
Energy certificate
EcoHomes “Very Good” / BREEAM
“Excellent”
BREEAM “Excellent”
District heating (and electricity)
based on the CHP plant.
2
power or heat
3,04 MWe and 3,07 MW th
CHP (MW) / pv (kWp)
6.1 MW in total
Remarks
A similar engine was added in
2009 increasing the capacity to
6.08 MWe and 6.14 MW th.
94
The “green roof” of the Sainsbury’s
creates a podium garden for
residents.
Community Disposal Centre
Sports facility Fanny Blankers Koen
KlokHuis
Groenhorst College
District Almere Poort
Almere Noord West
Columbuskwartier
District Almere Poort
New-built district
Existing community building
New-built district
New-built district
PV on municipality recycling
station
PV on sports facility
PV on educational centre
PV on new secondary school
1
1
1
1
based on waste heat
based on waste heat
PV panels, Small wind turbine,
District heating based on waste heat
on waste heat
37 kWp
45 kWp
1,4 kWp
23 kWp
The KlokHuis facility has also
been used for dissemination and
education.
Vizion Offices
Pinnacle
Pinnacle Retail
PV Bus Station
Central Milton Keynes B3.2 (Pinnacle)
Central Milton Keynes B3.2 (Pinnacle)
New-built district
New-built district
New-built district
Existing district
Commercial office space
Office
Small retail stores
Roof integrated solar plant
1
3
Several
(1)
1.100
18,281
955
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
EPC “A” / BREEAM “Excelent”
EPC “A” / BREEAM “Excelent”
District heat
District heat
PV solar plant on the flat roof of
the previous bus station.
165 kWp
The installation had to respect
the “architectural integrity” of the
existing building.
cRRescendo
95
Ajaccio
Name
Rue de la Porte
Monte e Mare
St. Paul
Les Cannes
Community
Historical Centre
Urban renovation area
Area description
Existing district
Existing district
Existing district
Existing district
Type built
New building apartments
Refurbishment
Refurbishment
New office building (to be built)
8 homes in 1 building
92 homes in 2 buildings
1
602
6,370
3,637
1,000
75
70
70
High energy performance level of
the building envelop
Refurbishment heating system
Improved ventilation, heating and
lighting system,
Roof insulation, Casa system
Photo
2
Viladecans
Energy certificate
Ambitious specifications for
insulation and ventilation
“Energy-positive”
power or heat
PV panels, Solar thermal collectors
Solar thermal collectors
PV panels, Small wind turbines
12 m2 and 5.5 kWp
98 m2
94 m2
20 kWp
Remarks
An unsafe and unhealthy social
rented building was demolished
and replaced.
Build in a sensitive urban zone
with high public housing,
unemployment, and a low
education level.
education level.
This energy positive building is
developed within but built after
the cRRescendo project period.
Name
La Pineda
Can Xic
Torre Roja
Pablo Picasso
Area description
Existing district
Existing district
Recreation area
Existing district
Type built
New building day-care centre
Renovated Youth Centre
New sports facility building
Renocated cultural centre
1
1
1
1
1,144
765
1,512
821
High insulation of roof, floor and
windows, High efficient lighting
and cooling
High insulation
High insulation
High insulation
power or heat
Passive solar energy, Solar
thermal collectors
PV panels
12.5 m2
6 kWp
156 m2
Photo
Community
2
Energy certificate
Remarks
96
St. Jean 2
Pietralba
Existing district
Existing district
Refurbishment
Refurbishment
22,904
6,985
117
87
lighting system, Insulation of roof,
walls and windows, Casa system.
lighting system, Insulation of roof,
floor, walls and windows.
142 m2
education level.
education level.
CEIP Ponent
La Marina Park
Atrium
Cubic
Municipal Library
Existing district
Existing harbour area
Existing district
Existing district
Existing building
New school building
PV on new pergola
PV on sports and theatre centre
PV on conference centre
PV on municipal library
1
0
1
1
1
PV panels, Solar thermal collectors
PV panels
PV panels
PV panels
PV panels
22.5 m2 and 95 kWp
16 kWp
94 kWp
23 kWp
4.9 kWp
4,982
Very high insulation
Calener / Lider Energy Label A
Smart devices like digital
whiteboards, make this first Solar
Smart School a model for other
municipal buildings.
cRRescendo
97
Annex II
The cRRescendo project was realised with the input and efforts of many individuals and
organisations. Mentioned here are the people from project partners. They are listed
alphabetically at the affiliation during their involvement.
Netherlands
Gemeente Almere
Ivo Booijnk
Adri Duivesteijn
Emil ter Horst
Annemarie Jorritsma,
Jack Laddé
Erwin Lindeijer
Jeroen Lubbers
Alex van Oost
Anne Marie van Osch
Sander Post
Linda Prins-van Essen
Marijke Quist
Ben Scholten
Tilly Stassen
Edwin van der Wel
Aleida Winkelman
Ecofys
Charlie de Ruiter
HCA (formerly English Partnerships)
Kathrin Braun
Frank de Vries
Steve Ball
Antonin van de Bree
Alan Bates
Pim van Gennip
NMFF
Allison DeMarco
Maarten Graveland
Robert Atkins
Ian Duncan
Vera Haaksma
Kim Boerboom
Stan Farmer
Edith Molenbroek
Vera Dam
Sue Green
Caspar Noach
Paul Hammond
Lou Ramaekers
Bart van der Ree
Anthony Leney
United Kingdom
Nesen Surmeli
Caroline Madden
Jon Muncaster
Milton Keynes Council
Andrew Pearson
NUON
Martin Davies
Emyr Poole
Gerrit Daalmeijer
Jeremy Draper
Muhammad Rafique
Henkjan Marsman
Geoff Snelson
Ann Seipp
98
Paul Van Geete
Spain
Richard Watkins
Viladecans City Council
NEF / USEA
M. Arcos
Ian Byrne
A. Chaves
Brad Hook
I. Fabró
Ruth Wharton
E. Galisteo
M. Jarque
Arup
Raquel Millán Lopez
Rupert Blackstone
Carmen Pérez Figueras
Malcolm Heath
X. Roig
Chris Trott
J. Rodríguez
John Piggott
C. Ruiz,
In loving memory of Raquel Millan Lopez ( 2013),
Barry Austin
C. Sainz
a driving force in Viladecans to the cRRescendo
E. Serra
project and main Catalan contributor to this book.
Oxford University - Environmental Change
Institute
VIMED
Brenda Boardman
I. Marin
Sarah Darby
S. Presmanes
Nick Eyre
J. Regalado
Kathryn Janda
Anu Jogesh
VIGIP
Gavin Killip
J. Crespo
Pernille Schillerup
J. Giner
SaAs Sabaté Asociados Arquitectura y
France
Sostenibilidad
J. Sabaté
Ajaccio Municipality
Christine Bernardini
Denis Bravi
Observers cities
Frédéric Debortoli
SAN de Senart
ADEME
Jerome Bourgis
Virginie Bollini
Nathalie Dupont
Frederique Vinay
ADEME DR Corse
Philippe Istria
Sofia , Bulgaria
Alexis Milano
Nadia Nikolova
Silvia Savkova
Corsican Regional Authority
Loic Chastanet
Misterbianco, Sicily, Italy
Maria Guidicelli
Sergio Campanella
Marie-Dominique Paoli
Mariangela Torrisi
François Noël Rossi
Thierry Souchard
cRRescendo
99
PVGIS http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/
100
30°W
20°W
10°W
0°
10°E
20°E
30°E
40°E
50°E
60°E
Annex III Solar Potential in Europe
60°N
Reykjavík
Helsinki
Oslo
Tallinn
Stockholm
Moscow
Rīga
København
Vilnius
Minsk
50°N
Dublin
Warszawa
Berlin
Amsterdam
Kyiv
London
Bruxelles/Brussel
Praha
Luxembourg
Paris
Chişinău
Bratislava
Wien
Budapest
Bern
Vaduz
Ljubljana
Zagreb
Bucureşti
Belgrade
Sarajevo
San Marino
Sofia
Andorra
la Vella
40°N
Podgorica
Ankara
Skopje
Roma
Tiranë
Madrid
Lisboa
Athínai
Nicosia
Bayru
El Djazaïr
Tunis
Valletta
0
Rabat
100
200
10°W
0°
2
[kWh/m ]
300
400
101
cRRescendo
10°E
20°E
30°E
500
km
J
102
vimed
cRRescendo
vigip
103
Picture credits
Glossary
Front side: Almere The Marvel/De Verwondering, Solar Houses
BREEAM = (Building Research Establishment Environmental
in the social rented sector around the KinderPath and the
Assessment Methodology) = is a certification method for the
SunDial (photo: Koopmans Bouwgroep).
sustainability and energy performance of a building
Page 2: Almere The Marvel/De Verwondering, Solar Houses
CHP = cogeneration of heat and power (electric energy).
with PV in the façade with view on the CO2 neutral house by Han
CIS = Cupper Indium Selenide: is a type of PV solar cell.
van Zwieten (photo: Koopmans Bouwgroep).
CMK = Central Milton Keynes
Page 6: Milton Keynes, Vizion Apartments with Roof Garden
EPC = (Energy Performance Coefficient) = the standard building
landscaping on the roof of the Sainsbury’s supermarket
code certification method for assessing the energy performance
(photo: Homes and Communities Agency).
of a building in the NL
Page 57: Ajaccio, Refurbishment and energy saving measures for
GJ = 278 kWh
social housing on Corsica (photo: Ville de Ajacio).
GWhprim = unit for saved primary energy (in kWh or in PJ)
Page 70: Viladecans, The first primary “Smart School” CEIP Nova
kWp = kiloWattpeak: is the standardised nominal power of a solar
Escola Ponent (photo: Ajuntament de Viladecans).
system and equals more or less the (maximum) power a PV system
Page 100 (left): Almere Columbuskwartier, PV solar panels
or unit produces when the sun is at noon (solar radiation
being installed (photo: TBI-Koopmans).
1000 W/m2 @ 25 degrees Celcius temperature)
Page 102: Almere Noorderplassen West, The iconic Solar Island
MK = Milton Keynes
(photo: Gemeente Almere).
MWe = electric power expressed in 1000’s kW’s.
Back side & page 100-101: Photovoltaic Solar Electricity
MWth = idem for thermal power (heat)
Potential in European Countries (Thomas Huld, Irene Pinedo-
Polygeneration = almost equal as CHP: to generate more than one
Pascua, JRC, European Commission, 2012, in collaboration with
source of energy, e.g. heat and power.
www.cmsaf.eu). Legal notice: Neither the European Commission
PV solar energy = photovoltaic solar energy or electricity directly
nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible
produced by solar cells from sun light.
for the use which might be made of this publication. The
SHW = Solar Hot Water energy technology
boundaries and names shown on this map do not imply official
Zero-carbon = a concept for a community of producing just as
endorsement or acceptance by the European Commission.
much carbon by using energy (e.g. on a yearly base) as that the
Other photography: TBI-Koopmans, Horisun, J.A. Prins
community is saving by producing renewable energy or biomass.
(www.panopictures.nl) and all cRRescendo partners.
Zero-energy = more or less idem for energy
Colophon
Authors
Editor in chief
Emil ter Horst, Caspar Noach, Leendert Verhoef and
Emil ter Horst (Horisun, on behalf of Almere)
Vera Haaksma
Editor
Caspar Noach (Ecofys)
Source material
Affiliations, financial support and contact
Paul Hammond, Raquel Millán Lopez, Virginie Bollini and
European Commission: www.CONCERTO.eu
all partners. Chapter 5 is based on “Columbuskwartier, de
Municipality Almere: www.almere.nl
ontdekking van een duurzame wijk”, Almere, May 2009, with
HCA: www.homesandcommunities.co.uk
texts from Connie Franssen, Berthilde Lammertink and
Contact:
Alex van Oost.
For more info and download: www.cRRescendo.net
Graphic design
Blik grafisch ontwerp, Utrecht, www.klikopblik.nl
Publisher
Printing
Horisun Renewable Energy Strategies, Utrecht, www.horisun.nl
Schorel Drukkerij, Spijk, www.schorel.net
ISBN 9789082257601
104
| © Almere, 2014
30°W
20°W
10°W
0°
10°E
20°E
30°E
40°E
50°E
60°E
60°N
Reykjavík
Milton Keynes
Helsinki
A first CHP and the ambitious Vizion &
Pinnacle buildings have been replicated
in the market and are the stepping stones
to the development of large near-zero
carbon integrated smart neighbourhoods
Almere
Oslo
Tallinn
Stockholm
From a quantity driven urban planning
through the Solar Island and a healthy
near-zero-carbon sustainable community
now to a zero-energy
Smart City in 2022
Rīga
Moscow
København
Vilnius
Minsk
50°N
Dublin
Warszawa
Berlin
Amsterdam
Kyiv
London
Bruxelles/Brussel
Brussels
Praha
Luxembourg
Paris
San de Sénart
Bern
CONCERTO inspires an
innovative energy policy Bratislava
and contributes towards
Wien
an energy independent
Vaduz
Europe based on
environmental, social and
economic sustainability
Ljubljana
Ajaccio
Chişinău
Budapest
From lacking behind on sustainability
through over 400 energy saving
refurbished houses now to energy
positive building
Bucureşti at the French forefront
Zagreb
Belgrade
40°N
Viladecans
Sarajevo
Sofia
San Marino
Sofia
Education and showcasing sustainable
community buildings and PV solar energy
during the recession paves the way to the
ambitious eco-district Llevant Madrid
Andorra
la Vella
Podgorica
Ankara
Skopje
Roma
Tiranë
Lisboa
Athínai
Nicosia
Ba
El Djazaïr
Tunis
Misterbianco
Valletta
0
Rabat
10°W
2
[kWh/m ]
0°
ISBN 9789082257601
| Horisun, Utrecht
10°E
20°E
100
200
30°E
300
400
500
km

New energy for growing communities

Transcription

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