Ispaster District Heating: Citizens’ and Municipality involvement
About this good practice
The objective of the Good pratice is to form a ring that serves several buildings that are located around it and supplies hot water, heating and electricity.
Resources needed
Budget since 2013: 1 million euros. The municipality has received the following funds:
• Basque government: funds for investment in rural areas
• Funds for the promotion of renewable energies managed by EVE (Basque Energy Agency)
• Bizkaia county council: environmental area
• Horizon2020: LocalRES
Evidence of success
The percentage of local renewable energy exceeds 75% in all consumption of the micro grid.
The supply comes from the energy generated by the biomass boiler and from solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal). Compared to the previous energy system, energy consumption has been reduced by 32% and CO2 emissions by 92%.
Impact in: 10 public buildings and and 12 nearby private buildings.
Active participation of citizens: workshops every 15 days which serve as a platform for debate and collaboration.
Potential for learning or transfer
This project, which began as an initiative driven by the municipality to supply thermal and electrical energy to public buildings, has expanded to involve citizens both in consumption and generation. It was named as “pilot project” in Bizkaia by EVE (Basque Energy Entity) as a project of interest. In 2013, informative talks were held for citizens to present the defined plan for energy self-sufficiency and gather contributions.
With the aim of further promoting the implementation of the necessary technologies to achieve the goal of energy self-sufficiency, but also based on citizen acceptance and participation, Ispaster is participating in the localRES Horizon 2020 project. A participatory process is carried out in which citizens actively participate through bi-weekly meetings in defining the energy community they desire.
The enthusiasm and dedication of Ispaster residents have been instrumental in getting this project on track.
