Page 42 - European Energy Innovation magazine - spring 2023 edition

Spring 2023 European Energy Innovation
42 POSITIVE ENERGY BUILDINGS

From concept to cost-effective solution:

Positive Energy Buildings in four EU cities

By Alexandra Pfohl, Officer Communications, Media & Outreach. Communications & Member
Relations, ICLEI Europe and Andreas Jaeger, Officer, Built Infrastructure & Sustainable Energy,
Sustainable Resources, Climate & Resilience, ICLEI

n four European cities, Positive demonstrate that cost-competitive, a building to produce excess energy
Energy Buildings (PEBs) are offering plus-energy building solutions are beyond building self-consumption.
solutions to the global challenges attainable across European climatic The excess energy can be fed back
Iof climate change and energy zones. to the local grid or benefit the energy
security. Their implementation could supply of neighbouring buildings or
transform not only local energy What began as a Horizon 2020 services. PEBs could hence play a
supply chains, but provide a blueprint project in 2019 has resulted in four critical role in compensating for the
for sustainable, energy secure demonstration buildings being energy demand of buildings that
buildings as the living spaces of the built either from the ground up, cannot become energy neutral, as
future. The cities of Graz (Austria), or being refurbished and adapted well as in the electrification of carbon
Helsinki (Finland), Valladolid (Spain) from and for various different intensive sectors and services, such
and Hasselt (Belgium) are separated purposes. The building projects as public and private mobility.
by several hundred kilometres and range from constructing an entirely
shaped by different population new apartment complex in Helsinki In spite of these benefits, the cost-
sizes, regulatory frameworks and (Finland) to the creation of a PEB intensive and complex nature of
local climatic conditions. Like many social-housing complex in Hasselt implementing plus-energy solutions
other European cities, however, they (Belgium). Projects to redesign a has long hampered the broader
share the same challenge: Bringing former industrial feed silo in Graz roll-out of the concept. PEB solution
emissions down, while ensuring a (Austria) and for the deep renovation packages have to be tailored to
stable, sustainable energy supply. of a historic palace in Valladolid buildings of different shapes, sizes
(Spain) are also underway. and uses, climatic conditions and
These cities’ ambition to find regulatory contexts. Hence, whereas
innovative solutions for their Whereas nearly-zero energy buildings abundant sunlight in Southern
specific local contexts is what have increasingly become standard Europe makes cooling a primary
made them unlikely but ideal for new construction, the energy concern and solar power an effective
collaboration partners for the EU concept of the four buildings is choice, more northern cities need to
Innovation Project EXCESS. A project looking to go one step further. By address heating demand effectively
in which 21 European research, designing buildings that produce from ground sources or wind energy.
technology, business, and urban more sustainable energy than they The PEB buildings in Hasselt and
transition experts came together to consume, the PEB concept enables Valladolid are hereby pioneering
solutions that could provide a
blueprint for addressing an ageing
building stock and skyrocketing
Installation of a wind
turbine to reach plus-energy energy price across Europe.
standards for a social housing
complex in Hasselt (Belgium) The PEB building in Hasselt (Belgium)
consists of 20 apartment units
intended for social housing, part
of a bigger residential complex.
The building supplies neighbouring
buildings with surplus energy from
the sustainable energy generation
system installed on its roof and
central basement. This includes
electricity production via PVT panels,

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