News
Stakeholder Workshop, AMS Institute
On Thursday 27th of June, at AMS Institute, there was a workshop about unlocking the solar potential on rooftops in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Different municipalities attended the workshop, and together with TUDelft and PVWorks, insightful information was shared in an interactive presentation. Results from several interviews with the municipalities have been shared to highlight common challenges and successful interventions. Later, three academic speeches showed the last updates on solar panels and data analysis, dealing with new technologies like PVT and their advantages. A final brainstorming session helped to wrap up the shared ideas and to promote further research and collaboration between parties.
4th Consortium Meeting in Resita
Resita, one of the four Focus Districts in the project “Simply Positive” was the location chosen for the 4th General Assembly on 6th and 7th June 2024. During the 2 days, the partners shared the progress of each workpackage within the project, which is now in its 18th month. We discussed the system boundaries, targets and weightings concerning the energy balance of the Focus Districts. The developed demonstrator, that will help districts to show their progress in saving greenhouse gas emissions and using renewable energy sources, was presented for gathering feedback from the partners. A new tool for the calculation of Photovoltaic potential brought improved results in the last months and the results of the “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP)” could be discussed. Finally, we set up the working plan for the final 6 months of the project and decided on the strategy, how all the collected best practice examples and participation strategies can be summed up in the “Best practice booklet”.
The bicycle share system via mobile app enabled a cycling tour through Resita for the participants in beautiful weather.
Reinventing the City Conference, Amsterdam
The AMS Scientific Conference (AMS Conference) explores and discusses how cities can transform themselves to become more liveable, resilient and sustainable while offering economic stability. With the objective of improving the liveability and sustainability of the world, topics like mobility, circularity, energy transition, climate adaption, urban food systems, digitization, diversity, inclusion, living labs and transdisciplinary research were addressed.
Some of the partners of the project “Simply positive” where among the participants and project leader, Helmut Bruckner, discussed the question “Is Amsterdam a Positive Energy District?” in one of the breakout-sessions. He explained the ambitious target of being a PED, especially in already built environment and pointed out the importance of the energy balance calculation of cities for bringing valuable insights into the benefits of different transition steps. Unfortunately, energy related data availability is a general problematic topic all over Europe. He concluded, that only by using all three energy functions – energy efficiency, energy production and energy flexibility – our 2050 targets will be achievable.
DUT Conference 2024 and PED II midterm meeting
At the DUT Conference 2024 on 10 – 12 April 2024 in Brussels we had the chance to meet with urban leaders, practitioners, researchers, investors, and visionaries at the forefront of sustainable urban transitions from all over Europe. The “Driving Urban Transitions (DUT)” is a European Partnership committed to supporting cities in their journey to become sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.
This conference was also used as midterm meeting of all projects of the PED II call, like SIMPLY POSITIVE. Therefore, the status of the project SIMPLY POSITIVE was presented in a short presentation and by a poster. The participants could learn from each other of implementing Positive Energy Districts strategies, be inspired by Urban Doers and novel approaches and get new insights from experts.
Network of Sustainable Municipalities event, Turin
A ceremony was held in April (10/4/2024) to present the Sustainable Municipalities Network plaque to the Metropolitan City of Turin.
The LINKS Foundation was also invited to the event and made its contribution to the debate with a speech by Alessandro Portinaro on the role of innovation in the Twin Transition. It was an opportunity to present several projects carried out at LINKS with an in-depth look at the project „Simply Positive“.
Student's Workshop at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien
The University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien (UASTW) is dedicated to fostering hands-on learning experiences for its students. In line with this commitment, the university recently conducted a workshop for Master’s students‘ projects in March 2024. This workshop served as a platform for students to delve into real-world challenges and innovative solutions. One of the primary focuses of the workshop was on mobility issues, where students discussed cutting-edge technologies and strategies to enhance transportation systems. Additionally, students also delved into the concept of creating a positive energy district for Groschönau, Austria. Through collaborative efforts and guided mentorship, participants brainstormed and developed ideas aimed at promoting sustainability and efficiency within the local community. The workshop not only provided valuable practical experience but also instilled a sense of responsibility and leadership among the future engineers and innovators from UASTW.
3rd Consortium meeting in Großschönau
On 20th and 21st November 2023, the project consortium met in Großschönau to discuss the current progress of the project and to find solutions for actual difficulties. Several tasks, that were already finalized, could be presented and the planned activities for the next 6 months were set.
The major of Großschönau presented the activities of the municipality towards its goal of becoming energy-neutral by 2030. Further, the partners were guided through the energy-experience-exhibition “SONNENWELT”, which was established and is conducted by the project leader “Sonnenplatz Großschönau GmbH”. Besides a picture of the project partners in front of the mascot of the SONNENWELT.
DUT Thematic AGORA: Quo vadis, PED?
Simply Positive-ESF Member, Simon Schneider, joined the panel discussion titled “Ped-Quo vadis?”, discussing with other international experts the sense and nonsense of PEDs, and the future direction of connecting the concept with that of climate neutral cities.
EBC joint meeting, Annex 86, 10th October 2023
Simply Positive – ESF Member, Simon Schneider, attended the IEA joint meeting of EBC Annex 83 and SHC Task 66 and presented the developed assessment methodology on PEDs and climate neutral districts.
2nd Workshop at Resita municipality
The second workshop aimed to bring together again the key stakeholders involved in the project at a local level. During this session, denkstatt provided an in-depth discussion of the progress and results achieved up to November and reviewed the project’s goals, in order to ensure that that everyone remained aligned. Additionally, the workshop included a detailed presentation on the findings from the climate risks and vulnerabilities analysis. Following the presentation, participants engaged in a debate on potential climate adaptation actions, exploring various strategies and measures to mitigate climate risks and enhance the region resilience to future climate challenges.
1st conference at Resita municipality
The inaugural workshop held in Resita brought together key stakeholders, marking
the initial phase of data collection, essential for the development of the
SECAP (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan). During this workshop,
denkstatt introduced the Simply Positive project, explaining it’s connection to
the Covenant of Mayor, through the SECAP creation and implementation, addressed
current climate risks and vulnerabilities specific to the region and outlined
the types of data required for the analysis. Additionally, denkstatt presented
a detailed timeline of the project and discussed the roles and responsibilities
of the stakeholders, emphasizing their crucial role throughout the process.
2nd Consortium meeting in Amsterdam
On 26th and 27th of June 2023, the second Consortium Meeting took place at the AMS Institute in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is one of the four focus districts in the project, pursuing the goal of installing 550 MW PV on roofs until 2030, equivalent to the usage of half of the solar panel potential of all roofs in the city, and freeing all buildings from gas until 2040.
The meeting was held as a hybrid meeting with personal attendance of each partner either in Amsterdam or joined into the three sessions digitally via MS Teams. Aim of the meeting was the presentation of the current progress of the project, tasks to be finished and the upcoming work within the next 6 months. Besides a picture of personally attending partners in front of the building in the centre of the city.
Online Kick-off Meeting
The Kick-off-Meeting of SIMPLY POSITIVE was held as an online meeting via MS Teams on 26th of January 2023. Project leader Helmut Bruckner, Sonnenplatz Großschönau GmbH, was presenting the project, general organization, distribution of deliverables and the upcoming work for the first 6 months. Afterwards, the workpackage leaders summarized the tasks, responsibilities, and goals of every workpackage. By documenting the to do’s of each partner for the first half year of the project the project got off to a good start.