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About NordSESIL.net

The challenge of accessing information in isolated communities
Communities in the Nordic region have a common need to use more sustainable energy services. Communities in isolated regions have particularly acute needs due to the high costs, limited service and potential for environmental impacts of their energy systems. Many barriers exist that prevent these communities from understanding the options available and identifying and accessing appropriate and sustainable solutions.

These barriers include technical, social and economic issues but have a common foundation of a lack of effective energy-specific communication and knowledge-sharing between the communities and stakeholders with interests in delivering sustainable energy solutions. This project will test the hypothesis that the creation, management and targeted use of a focused communication network for isolated communities in the Nordic region will significantly improve the practical ability of the communities to identify and access appropriate and sustainable energy supply solutions.

Project methodology
The project will have 2 key phases:

1. Build a focused network of motivated and relevant stakeholders with interests in delivering sustainable energy services to communities in isolated Nordic areas.
2. Use the network to build and share knowledge and capabilities that will enable communities to effectively access more sustainable energy services.

This will be achieved through 2 specific tasks. UNEP Risø Center will provide overall project management but all tasks will include significant contributions from project partners and network members:

1. Establish and facilitate a communication and capacity building network with stakeholders such as energy using communities, education, research and government and industry elements of the Arctic/Nordic/Baltic energy sector. A dynamic web site will serve as the central tool for the communication network.
2. Build knowledge and capability in the network through focused actions such as research and training programs. Work to enable the independent generation of projects and/or funding applications by communities at the end of the project, and establish a foundation for the long-term transfer of knowledge. Includes 4+ conference/workshops in the Nordic region, and 3+ tertiary education courses in the Nordic region.

Overall objectives
To improve the capability of energy using communities in isolated areas of the Nordic region to access sustainable energy solutions by creating and stimulating a network of relevant and motivated stakeholders. The network will provide a framework for communication and knowledge sharing and become a forum for motivated participants who want to find relevant partners and the knowledge and skills required to "get sustainable energy projects happening" in isolated areas of the Nordic region.

Short project history
The proposal for the NordSESIL project was created by David Pointing in collaboration with Gordon Mackenzie in 2006 as follow-up on an outcome from David's PhD on the challenges of implementation of sustainable energy technologies in isolated cold climate locations (wind-hydrogen systems in Antarctic research stations as a case study). David had approached the UNEP Risø Centre (URC) earlier in 2006 to act as the host and collaborating partner for a Nordic-focused network on sustainable energy technology transfer based on the Centre's expertise on capacity building and knowledge sharing in the development-based energy sector. The UNEP Risø Centre was/is also based at the Risø National Laboratory, known from 2007-onwards as Risø-DTU or the Danish National Laboratory for Renewable Energy, which provided a easy access to strong technical expertise.

A funding opportunity from Nordic Energy Research (2007-2010 round) was identified after David's visit to Risø and a preliminary project proposal was subsequently developed midway through 2006 by David (working in Australia) and Gordon (working in Denmark). The application was then submitted to Nordic Energy Research for assessment. The proposal passed the first round of selection and NordSESIL was invited to submit a complete proposal in the 3rd quarter of 2006. David returned to Risø (from Australia) to develop the full proposal, drawing in project partners using his existing network of contacts, contacts from the URC, and other sources. The resulting project proposal included a networking, knowledge sharing, and strong research component and sought 12 Million NOK in funding with approximately 8 Million NOK in in-kind support from project partners.

The project was approved for funding by Nordic Energy Research in December 2006, on the basis that the research component of the project was removed and the project budget constrained to a maximum of 4 Million NOK cash from Nordic Energy Research for the 3 year project period. A high proportion of the in-kind contributions was retained, although many of the original project partners were lost due to lack of supporting funds.

David was formally recruited by Risø to manage the project from August 2007.