What is innovative about this project?
- Project planning and management: Teaming up with local authorities for the uptake of new technologies.
- Social:Delivering SME-friendly, innovation and partnership procurement.
- Social: Developing different models of co-ownership or shared ownership of accommodation or certain utilities.
VILAWATT creation aimed to drive forward the energy transition in the Catalan city of Viladecans. The project set up a public-private-citizen partnership (PPCP), as the main governance structure to manage 4 key services: 100% renewable energy supply; fast renovation of private buildings; consulting services and learning communities (energy audits & contract optimisation, training and empowerment in energy culture, financing options); and efficiency incentives via the Vilawatt local currency. The project shows the potential of urban authorities to test high risk experimental ideas. Viladecans City Council was transformed into a lab where governance and energy models and services are tested and lessons learnt.
Local Partnership
- Company: Ubiquat Tecnologies; Associació LIMA – Low Impact Mediterranean Architecture; Cercle Gespromat; EGM
- Municipality: Viladecans City Council; VIGEM – Viladecans Grup d’Empreses Municipals, S.L. and VIMED
- Housing provider: Viladecans City Council
- Other: ICAEN – Institut Català de l’Energia; Barcelona Urban Ecology Agency; CICLICA SCCL
Vilawatt’s backbone is the public-private-citizen partnership (PPCP). Vilawatt was an Urban Innovative Action project7 made up of 9 partners (public and private) coordinated by the municipality of Viladecans. Viladecans City Council was the promoter, supported by municipal companies responsible for the technical management and implementation of the project(VIGEM and VIMED).
Ubiquat Tecnologies was responsible for the co-design of the local energy currency; Cercle Gespromat, was in charge of the management of social mediation and legal, financial and technical aspects related to building renovation; EGM, a local energy consultant responsible for the analysis of data to create an energy information system; LIMA, promoted sustainable construction and contributing to the design of buildings with low environmental impact; CÍCLICA, a cooperative supporting community participation and engagement; Barcelona Urban Ecology Agency, supporting the implementation of the local energy operator; the Catalan Institute of Energy for the definition of the model of energy savings contract.
Key Facts
- Year of construction: 1970s
- Renovation period: 2016-2019
- Area of intervention (m²): 3 buildings for private dwellings
- Number of dwellings (before/after):60
- Housing typology: multi-apartment buildings
- Housing tenure: multi-ownership: owner-occupancy
- Number of residents: 51 dwellings
- Shared facilities: 4 open spaces for learning and knowledge exchange among citizens, business, professionals and schools; ground floor retail space.
Financial information
- Funding sources: EU Regional Development Fund (Urban Innovative Actions)
- Total cost of renovation (€): 5,300,000 €
- Subsidies received (€): 4,269,862.8 € (80% ERDF)
- Rent before and after renovation (€/month): N/A
- Energy bill (€/month): the estimated real reduction has been: 54 – 58% in each building. Although not all the dwellings took part in the retrofitting, actions were carried out in the building common areas.
Context
The Vilawatt project was initially located in the district of Montserratina, a densely populated urban area accommodating 30% of the population in Viladecans, Catalonia. Most of the dwellings were built before 1976, before the onset of stringent energy legislation. Resident profiles are mixed, mostly migrants from other regions within Spain and from the 1990s onwards, from outside Europe. Income is 15 % lower than the city average and six hundred households in Viladecans lived in an energy poverty situation. In an attempt to address this situation, the Viladecans City Council aimed at improving energy management, focusing on fighting energy poverty and climate change. These concerns gave rise to Vilawatt, an integrated energy operator with a joint structure that includes residents, companies and the City Council, as well as a second public institution.
Goals
- To raise awareness on Energy Transition and Energy Efficiency among citizens and city agents in order to empower and engage them in the Energy Transition process.
- To improve governance and energy sovereignty: Renewable energy supply; Integral energy retrofitting; Creation of a local currency linked to energy savings; Creation of training programs and learning spaces for the improvement of energy culture (empowerment of citizens on energy issues).
- Contribute to the energy transition and social justice locally by addressing energy poverty from within the energy system, and by promoting secure, clean and efficient energy.
Interventions
- Creation of a Public-Private-Citizen (PPC) governance structure (formed by citizens, businesses, Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Municipality of Viladecans).
- Creation of an Integral Energy Operator, managed through the PPC.
- Deep retrofitting of three private residential buildings: passive systems renovation: Insulation of facades and roofs; Change carpentry (window frames and doors); Replacement of single glazing by double glazing; solar protection by means of awning installation in main façades. Active system renovation: New air conditioning systems; New heaters; New ventilation systems; Change of LED bulbs; Replacement of refrigerators by those with a triple A rating; installation of solar panels in building roofs (6 kw).
- Installation of photovoltaic panels.
- Creation of energy communities. Three buildings shared power when excess energy is produced. Regulations allow to connect consumers in the district within a radius of 500 metres, even if they are not directly connected to the Vilawatt installation. Vilawatt purchases energy collectively in the wholesale market for all association members (100% Certified Renewable Energy) acting as a single customer to suppliers.
- Introduction of a local currency (“Vilawatt”) incentives for participating families, who are paid in the currency in return for savings. This encourages loyalty to the local shops where “Vilawatt” is accepted as currency.
- Set up of an Energy Advisory Service to raise awareness on energy efficiency in schools, construction / energy professionals, other business and citizens in general;
- Provision of specific training in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energies energy audit services, information/participative actions, etc., in order to promote changes in behaviour.
Impact
- Energy consumption has been reduced by 54-58% through deep energy renovation works (measurements recorded by the software platform connected to the dwelling’s sensors). The carbon footprint has been reduced by 2750 TS CO²/year, measured by the purchase of energy with a certificate of renewable origin by the company.
- The Vilawatt approach in terms of governance and energy management have passed the testing phase and are now well-established procedures in the public administration.
- The essence of Vilawatt has permeated the city administration. Vilawatt has become a brand for innovating and energy transition in Viladecans and beyond. Viladecans 2030 Strategy was approved in September 2021 and Vilawatt project is a driver to accomplish the mission “to make Viladecans a climate-neutral city by 2030”.
- Vilawatt success led to the development of a City Council Innovation Model (MIA) (an innovation-friendly mindset).
- An energy office was set up with 600 new energy contracts, 146 households were trained and engaged in a deep renovation scheme and 66 unemployed were trained in energy efficiency.
- 4.000 Vilawatt currency users, and more than 400 local shops and business accepting energy currency.
- 47 participative actions carried out in the streets of Viladecans to raise awareness & 4 learning spaces were created.
- The development of a Participatory Strategic Plan was understood as a key achievement. The plan included the analysis of the specific role played by 10 different social actors: neighbours (beneficiaries); schools (eleven schools implementing energy-saving programmes); construction companies (exchange of ideas and practices), the jobless community (training in energy-related fields) and commerce (who accept the currency).
Advice to future “Lighthouse Districts”
- Adapt the budget to the public procurement rules when hiring innovative service providers to avoid associated complexities and barriers. Public procurement was a major obstacle. Viladecans experienced challenges adapting the innovation outlook in the tender procedures and/or purchasing products. The complexity of the Vilawatt project resulted in delays in coordinating and deploying some of the tools and governance necessary for its development in earnest (PPCP creation, energy currency deployment, the Vilawatt Office). This made the consortium change the beneficiaries’ budget to allow for outsourcing and avoid the legal complexity and administrative procedures of public procurement.
- Ensure political leadership and support. Vilawatt was a complex project affecting multiple municipal services. Projects that are integrated into a broader and long-term strategy of the organisation have more chances of being successful.
- Develop a thorough assessment of the fiscal impact of the project on the residents’ tax returns at the outset.
- Provide technical assistance to private individuals, who ultimately should take the initiative to renovate their homes.