in content lists or on the content page.A new suburb of more than a thousand energy-efficient homes is to be built in Skaftkärr, Porvoo. There will be more than four thousand inhabitants. The area will be designed and developed as a pilot project of nationwide importance. The participants in the project are the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the City of Porvoo, Porvoon Energia Oy and Kehitysyhtiö Posintra Oy. The agreement for the project was signed at the Porvoo City Hall on Wednesday, 1st of October.
“The houses, services, living environment, traffic arrangements and waste management for the area will be planned so that they consume as little energy as possible. Our goal is to totally eliminate the carbon dioxide emissions of the housing area. We also want to create a safe and comfortable housing area with its own character, providing many different alternatives for homes,” says Jukka-Pekka Ujula, Deputy Mayor of the City of Porvoo.
The Skaftkärr pilot project is part of the five-year Energy Programme initiated by Sitra in June. The goal of the programme is to identify practical measures for improving energy efficiency. The intention is to extensively utilise the experience and results obtained in the project for other areas in Finland.
“We shall develop the concept of an energy-oriented town plan. This means new types of planning models applicable to other parts of Finland as well. With them, energy planning and improvement of energy efficiency can in the future be integrated as a central element of town planning of housing estates,” says Jukka Noponen, Programme Director at Sitra.
The solutions for heat and electricity production for the area will be already thought out during the town planning stage. In addition to district heating, the different local and house-specific possibilities for energy production, such as solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy and bioenergy, will be taken into account.
The energy-saving possibilities provided by latest knowledge and technology will be utilised in the building work. The energy consumption of houses can be considerably reduced by various means including thermal insulation, air-tightness and heat recovery. The heating requirements of the house can be totally covered by the thermal energy emitted by people, equipment and the sun.
“Businesses have also shown an interest in this project. Many companies want to join in to develop experimental houses and future solutions for the area,” says Jukka-Pekka Ujula.
The goal is to carry out the design and innovation work for the Skaftkärr area in extensive cooperation with public authorities, energy producers, developers of energy utilisation, property developers, equipment manufacturers and other companies, as well as with the future inhabitants. The LivingLab section of the Skaftkärr pilot project will create the framework for interaction, development work and reduction of electricity consumption by means of an intelligent, easy-to-use control system. The system can be utilised for product development, energy monitoring and advisory services, for example.
The business logic of energy companies will change if different energy-efficient solutions are required at the town planning stage when new areas are built. New service business models are created for energy companies as part of the Skaftkärr project to support energy-saving building. In addition to Porvoon Energia, other companies are also participating in the development of alternative energy solutions for the Skaftkärr area. These include suppliers of thermal energy and solar energy equipment, small wind power stations and alternative fuels.
Further information:
Deputy Mayor Jukka-Pekka Ujula, City of Porvoo
tel. +358 40 352 2033
Programme Director Jukka Noponen, Sitra
tel. +358 40 587 4323
Managing Director Fredrick von Schoultz, Kehitysyhtiö Posintra Oy
tel. +358 40 554 1586
Managing Director Patrick Wackström, Porvoon Energia Oy
tel. +358 19 6614 200