Interregional meeting debating renewable energy sources

Interregional cooperation and workshops, good practices identification, and regional action plans facilitate and foster mutual learning and knowledge gain in the RESINDUSTRY – Policies for Renewable Energy Sources in Industry project. The project aims to increase the proportion of renewables in industrial applications by improving regional policies, and thus stimulate related funding and investments. Besides LAB University of Applied Sciences from Finland, partners from the Czech Republic (Lead partner), Spain, Estonia, Poland, Austria, and Malta comprise the project team. (Interreg Europe 2022a.)

On 22 February 2022, the RESINDUSTRY online interregional workshop and a virtual site visit were hosted by the Marshal Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Kielce, Poland. The meeting included three workshops with different themes, the site visit, and all project partners’ presentations on action plans development.

A drawing of five separate pictures representing different renewable energy sources. From top left clockwise: a biogas plant, a house with a geothermal energy system, two wind turbines, sun and a PV panel, and a hydro energy plant.
Picture 1. Different renewable energy sources include biogas, geothermal energy, wind, solar and hydro energy. (Picture: Taru Martilla)

Workshops and virtual study visit

Workshop 1 summarized the RESINDUSTRY’s activities conducted so far leading to the design of action plans in project partner regions. The event’s host presented an overview of planned activities supporting their action plan. One of them is the so-called Expert Mission. An expert representing one of the good practices, earlier identified by other partners, is invited to share detailed information and exchange knowledge with local stakeholders. This may inspire the local authorities and companies for a similar installation in their region. The Polish partner has selected the good practice from Finland and the Expert Mission with an expert from Lahti Energia is planned for April 2022. Link to the selected Good practice: Biomass Heating Production From Food Industry Waste

Then, the virtual site visit to an installation of a photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a capacity of up to 1 MW in HEKO company was presented. HEKO, located in Czermno, Poland, produces car fairing. In order to ensure the company’s energy independence, 2 260 PV panels were installed. The investment was co-funded by ERDF (441 521.16 €) and HEKO’s own contribution (216 333.22 €). Link to Good practice: A PV power plant of up to 1MW at HEKO Plastics and Various Products Plant

A photo of a computer and a big screen, on which the virtual site visit is just played. In front, there is the RESINDUSTRY project brochure standing. On both sides flowers are standing, on the left, there is a cup of coffee.
Picture 2. Altogether 35 people watched the RESINDUSTRY virtual site visit to HEKO, Czermno, Poland. (Picture: Katerina Medkova)

The site visit was followed by workshop 2. The workshop deepened the information about the good practice selected for the site visit by providing inputs both from the technology supplier as well as HEKO, the user of the installation.

After the lunch break, workshop 3 was organized on new solutions in the field of renewable energy sources. Dr Tomasz Fiszer presented medium and high-power high-temperature heat pumps (up to 4 MW), which can power diverse installations in industry and services. They provide high parameters temperature for heat and cold supply to be used, for instance, in the food industry, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, municipal networks.

The meeting was concluded by project partners’ presentation on the regional action plans and the policy instruments addressed. Designing regional action plans to boost the integration of renewables is the key output of the three-year project activities. In the following year, the fulfilment of the action plans will be monitored.

Author

Katerina Medkova who works as an RDI specialist at LAB University of Applied Sciences and is a Project & Communication Manager in the RESINDUSTRY project. RESINDUSTRY is supported by the Interreg Europe Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and co-financed by the participants.

References

Interreg Europe. 2022a. Project Summary. RESINDUSTRY. Cited 1 Mar 2022. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/resindustry/

Links

Link 1. Interreg Europe. 2022b. Project Good Practices. Good practice: Biomass Heating Production from Food Industry Waste. Cited 01 Mar 2022. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/4509/biomass-heating-production-from-food-industry-waste/

Link 2. Interreg Europe. 2022c. Project Good Practices. Good practice: A PV power plant of up to 1MW at HEKO Plastics and Various Products Plant. Cited 01 Mar 2022. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/4719/a-pv-power-plant-of-up-to-1mw-at-heko-plastics-and-various-products-plant/