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Workshop on “Competitive policies in the Nordic Energy Research and Innovation Area (ENERGIA)"

18 June 2008

The NordSESIL.net coordinator attended a workshop on innovation and research in the Nordic region. The objective of the workshop was to study and learn from selected Nordic good practices in innovation and policy, including Swedish bio energy, Danish wind energy, and Norwegian carbon capture and storage. The event was held at the Research Council of Norway in Oslo. See the program for the workshop here.

NordSESIL.net's interest in attending was too learn about current efforts to identify and share successful practices for the development of sustainable energy industries in the region, and to identify specific projects in the region that could be of interest to the networks members. We will be tracking down a number of leads on specific projects.

New search tools added to the NordSESIL.net site

9 June 2008

We have added a number of custom search tools using the Google search engine to help you find content on the site, and on sites that we believe are particularly relevant. Users are also welcome to suggest additional sites to add to the reference list.

NordSESIL.net included in funding application for energy + tourism

6 June 2008

The NordSESIL.net project has been included in an application for funding from a new Nordic funding programme to stimulate innovative tourism products and services. The proposal was developed by Faroese NordSESIL.net partner Bitland, and includes other partners in the network.

NordSESIL's interest in the application is to improve our ability to connect with high-potential markets for sustainable energy solutions in the Nordic region, with funding for more workshops and networking events. The Nordic tourism industry is viewed as a high-potential market as operators have high energy supply costs and operate in remote locations where conventional facilities may not be available or suitable. Innovative tourism activities and efforts to develop 'greener' tourism products can also have an obvious link to sustainable energy solutions, and subsequently to the NordSESIL.net project.

Workshop on tourism and innovation,

3-4 June 2008

From June 2008 Nor...

NordSESIL's interest in participating was to see if any attractive opportunities existed to assist tourism operators with their business and community goals through the development of sustainable energy projects in their areas. 

Our view is that sustainable energy projects can provide 'better' energy services to tourist facilities in a range of applications, including simply being 'greener'. Sustainable energy projects can also become tourist developments in their own right, creating new industry opportunities. Anecdotal evidence from a range of sustainable energy projects around the world illustrates that professionals and common people (tourists) do want to see working examples of sustainable energy solutions, and will travel and pay money to do so.

We took a number of main messages away from the workshop. Climate change issues and the relatively high costs for labour in the Nordic region were the two greatest threats to tourism industry in the future.  The strengths of the region were seen as intelligent populations, genuine and interesting cultures and histories (including industries), and access to safe and clean 'nature' experiences.  One potential path for the future that was proposed was to focus on local tourism from within the region (not involving large travel distances) and to provide quality knowledge-based tourism that would justify higher prices without excessive luxury. The development of sustainable energy solutions in the region fits will with this path by strengthening efforts to have intelligent but minimal impact interactions with nature and to generally be more sustainable.

Preparations for the Cool 100 project branding underway,

29 May 2008

NordSESIL met with a graphic designer this week to develop a logo and branding model for the Cool 100 project and to invigorate the graphics used for NordSESIL.net on a more general basis.  The designer will produce a revised logo for NordSESIL.net, a logo for the Cool 100 project, and formalise the graphic layout of a brochure for the Cool 100 based on a draft design that we have recently developed.  When completed, the Cool 100 project web site will be launched and materials distributed.

Presentation to the NER Board,

22 May 2008

NordSESIL was invited to make a presentation to the NER Board about project goals and results to date, in Copenhagen on 22nd May 2008. The slides can be seen at Documentation and Publications.  Many of the Board members were new to their positions, and so the event was an opportunity to show what kind of projects NER was supporting and also specific details about the NordSESIL.net initiative.

Two interesting questions were asked by the audience - (1) why were we planning to launch the Cool 100 project in early 2010, and not at the COP 15 climate change conference in Copenhagen in late 2009, and (2) were we identifying and documenting research needs relating to sustainable energy use in the Nordic region.

Our answers were:

(1) although still being formalised, our plans for the Cool 100 project are to announce the project and the list of 100 inspiring and informative energy projects AFTER the COP 15 meeting as we fear that the high profile UNFCCC meeting will generate a very large amount of announcements and press materials and our small-scale project in the northern corner of the world will be lost "in the noise". If we wait, however, until after the meeting, we can present the Cool 100 project as one of the first actions to address the global problem though focused localised activities.

(2) identifying research areas is an activity that is strongly embodied in our general approach to improving access to sustainable energy solutions in the Nordic region, and so the answer is yes. But, upon reflection, the activity could (should) be more explicit and so the Network will also take on a task of identifying areas where research is needed. The specific details of how this will be done, to what depth and level of detail will the research areas be defined, and how the results will be communicated, is not yet defined but will be addressed and communicated soon.

NordSESIL.net partners attend Clim-atic.org meeting in Sweden,

15-16 May 2008

Members of the NordSESIL network have also joined the newly established Clim-atic Project "Climate Change — Adapting to The Impacts, by Communities in Northern Peripheral Regions" and attended the first meeting of partners in Sweden on 15-16th. NordSESIL will actively contribute to the project via ARTEK in Greenland. The focus for activities in Greenland will be the production of sustainable biogas energy using waste materials from fish factories, and the development of more sustainable tourist accommodation systems to support new tourism activities on the Greenland ice cap.

Successful community workshop in Sisimiut, Greenland,

4-5 March 2008

The first community-focused workshop ("a local look") for NordSESIL was held in Sisimiut, Greenland following a conference on access to sustainable energy organised by ARTEK.

Further details and outcomes from the workshop will be published soon.

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