PED-ID is creating new innovative guidelines to accelerate the development of positive energy districts in the EU
Positive energy districts or “PEDs” are identified as key solutions by the European Union in the path towards more sustainable and energy-efficient cities. In this context, the project PED-ID is formulating a method focused on the early-stage development of PED projects. The results and guidelines of PED-ID will enable stakeholders to engage and join together in creating more PEDs across Europe, simplifying a complex process that until now has stood in the way of implementation.
"PEDs introduce the next generation of energy efficient buildings with a high coverage of renewables integrating both proven and innovative technologies. Moreover, PEDs interconnect many sectors with a high degree of technical and communication integration." Jiří Karásek, senior consultant and project manager at SEVEn, The Energy Efficiency Center.
Positive energy districts are urban areas with net zero CO2 emissions and net zero energy import, working towards a surplus production of renewable energy, integrated in an urban and regional energy system. These urban areas create win-win solutions not only for municipalities but also energy industries and residents within the area. PEDs create more energy effective and resilient cities, facilitating the planning of urban areas.
As with other urban development and intervention projects, SDPs involve a wide range of stakeholders from the project conception, implementation and operation phases:
"Stakeholder engagement is by far the most important element for a successful implementation of PEDs. It is crucial to address important stakeholders besides representatives of municipalities with PED requirements in early area development phase." Lise-Lott Larsson Kolessar, Sustainability process leader for urban planning at White Arkitekter.
Even with full-fledged technical solutions, PEDs cannot be established on a larger scale without stakeholder engagement in order to create sustainable energy solutions. PED-ID aims to develop tools and method to overcome such challenges, which will be tested in four Living Labs across Europe. The purpose is to identify and develop ways to establish PEDs more efficiently across Europe through stakeholder engagement that can be replicated regardless of context.
The gathered knowledge and experience from the Living Labs will result in the creation of new guidelines that can support interested stakeholders to replicate and develop new PEDs. The objective is to accelerate the rate of achieving Positive Energy District status and to accomplish the goal of 100 PED sites in Europe by 2025.
The project PED-ID is financed by JPI Urban Europe. Project partners are White Arkitekter AB, Sustainable Innovation AB, e7 Energy Markt Analyse GmbH, SEVEn, Energy Efficiency Center, z.ú., Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering. Living labs will be applied in Vienna (Austria), Rožnov (Czech Republic) and Uppsala (Sweden).
Read more about the project on the partner websites.