Powering the Urban Future Brochure

Ecoenergen Ges.m.b.H Wohllebengasse 7/12a A-1040 Wien Telefon +43 1 504 0747 Firmenbuch FN 215351 v Bankverbindung CA 0868 3168200 BLZ 12000 info@ecoenergen.com www.ecoenergen.com Powering the Urban Future A Conference Organized by ECOENERGEN October 13th and 14th 2008 Urban planning as a multi-disciplinary endeavor must come to grips with energy provision against the backdrop of climate change and the increasing scarcity of traditional sources. The purpose of Ecoenergen’s conference, “Powering the Urban Future”, is to bring specialists from the energy sector --consultants, engineers, and enterprises in the Renewable Energy Source (RES) and Energy Efficiency (EE) areas-- together with city planners, municipal authorities, architects, financial services professionals, investors, and EU Commission representatives, in order to discuss practical experiences and strategies for the future. This conference will provide a forum in which participants from these different areas can interface to explore the business potential presented by RES and EE technologies in the urban setting, not only in the EU and the USA, but also in Russia and Central Asia. The conference will present not only successful implementations from a variety of fields, but will also provide an opportunity to examine conceptualizations of the future, assess problems and capacities, and map possible roads ahead. Themes: 1. Examination of the EU’s proposed legislation regarding Renewable Energy Resources (RES) and Energy Efficiency (EE), and its implications for urban planning. The European Commission has launched a succession of initiatives to unify the electricity market, increase the efficiency of consumption, and integrate mechanisms to reduce the impact on the environment of energy production. This section will discuss the progress of these initiatives, the nature of the difficulties in implementing them, and the likely course of development. 2. The USA, Russia and the CIS in a comparative perspective. Given their mineral wealth, several countries of the former Soviet Union have seen little need to make rapid progress in integrating energy efficiency practices or developing alternative sources. However, the opportunity cost of above average per capita consumption, together with the need to cope with the legacy of environmental neglect from the Soviet period, is prompting some change in perspective. 3. Building Codes and the development of Distributed Generation (DG). Both at the European Commission and national levels, building codes are requiring greater stringency in the energy profile of new buildings. At the same time, micro-grids, distributed generation (DG) and technologies for energy self-sufficiency are becoming increasingly feasible and cost-effective, although they frequently face other regulatory issues. Ecoenergen Ges.m.b.H Wohllebengasse 7/12a A-1040 Wien Telefon +43 1 504 0747 Firmenbuch FN 215351 v Bankverbindung CA 0868 3168200 BLZ 12000 info@ecoenergen.com www.ecoenergen.com 4. Urban Security and catastrophe management: building for resilience. Municipal authorities need information systems for situation analysis and concerted action before, during, and after crises, so that critical systems can function optimally. Furthermore, the increasing frequency of natural disasters and the economic consequences of grid outages and energy shortages require that not only cities but individual corporations and even buildings adopt greater degrees of self-sufficiency for power, light and heating. 5. The “Smart Grid”: sustainability, security, and efficiency. The “Smart Grid” aims to revolutionize the provision of electricity by integrating evolving information systems to enhance transmission, distribution and the uptake of distributed generation. Advanced metering and control systems provide two-way communication between electricity providers and consumers so that control over consumption can be dramatically improved. 6. An overview of “Green Design”: architecture, building materials, implementations. Leading architectural firms are pursuing the synergies between beauty of design and energy efficiency. There is a new recognition of the advantages of combining design, materials, and the local environment to minimize the need for external energy provision; using natural lighting through glass roofs and reflector panels, water-powered micro-generators, roof-mounted wind turbines, and other techniques. This section provides an overview of some outstanding new buildings from leading architects. 7. Urban Transport, energy consumption in the transport sector, and traffic control: successful implementation of “alternative projects” for emissions control. Zoning laws, building codes, public transport and pedestrian zones have significant implications for the carbon footprint of modern cities. This section discusses the efforts of several cities to re-route traffic, provide enhanced public transport to reduce congestion, and to modify actual vehicles to improve efficiency, convenience and reduce negative environmental effects. 8. Developments in public transport: reducing fossil fuels, from bicycles to automobiles. First launched in Paris during a Metro strike, the idea of publically available bicycles that can be rented and then returned via a mobile phone system has caught on in a number of European cities, although cultural differences have caused a variety of problems. The “stackable car” from MIT and ground-breaking car from “Think Nordic” will take the bicycle idea a step further to rechargeable, compactable vehicles. 9. Waste to energy: minimizing pollution, maximizing efficiency of energy extraction. Waste management is a critical issue for any community of any size, but its potential as a source of relatively clean energy has been hitherto underutilized. Experts in this field discuss a range of issues, from the chemical and logistical to the legal and political, with which cities have had to cope in their efforts to maximize the extraction of energy and minimize the environmental consequences of waste management. Ecoenergen Ges.m.b.H Wohllebengasse 7/12a A-1040 Wien Telefon +43 1 504 0747 Firmenbuch FN 215351 v Bankverbindung CA 0868 3168200 BLZ 12000 info@ecoenergen.com www.ecoenergen.com 10. Carbon Emissions Trading for projects in municipalities. Carbon emissions trading is a rapidly growing business that can provide an important stimulus to local industry to upgrade equipment and establish more environmentally sound practices. Experts in this field will describe how the carbon markets can work to provide financing via the various species of “carbon credits” and the related “reduction certificates”. 11. Financing of RES and EE in the urban context; methods, practices, and implementations. The analysis and allocation of project risk, particularly in “public-private” cooperations, the role of the state in providing guarantees on behalf of the “public good”, the hidden obstacles and “deal-breakers”, and what private sector Funds look for in a renewable energy projects will be discussed by both officials (multilateral and state) and Private Equity investors. 12. RES and EE enterprises: obstacles, opportunities and strategies. Alternative energy technologies are developing in many countries, but price structures, governmental support and the overall commercial and regulatory environment vary and limit integration. This section provides an analysis of the economic viability of different technologies under different regimes.