NOMINATED TO NORDIC ENERGY MUNICIPALITY 2011
Municipality of Akureyri
NORDIC ENERGY
MUNICIPALITY 2011
From Refuse to Resource Organic Waste Management
The Municipality of Akureyri was nominated as a finalist for the Nordic Energy
Municipality 2011 with the project From
Refuse to Resource. Akureyri is Iceland’s largest town outside the capital
area, with just under 18,000 inhabitants. Akureyri has access to carbon
free energy for both electricity and
geothermal energy for domestic heating. There remain, then, emissions of
greenhouse gases from transport and
traffic. There are about 12000 family
cars in the municipality, yielding the
estimated emissions of 36,000 tonnes
of CO2 in the region. Also about 15,000
tonnes of organic waste accumulates
every year from domestic consumption.
This causes annual gas emissions of
approximately 24,000 tonnes from the
old Akureyri landfill.
The project aims to change the treatment of organic waste and to maximize
the energy and environment related
benefits to Akureyri. The objective is
NORDIC
ENERGY
MUNICIPALITY
to minimize greenhouse gas emissions
from organic waste, and simultaneously produce an environment-friendly
fuel: gas from old landfills or biodiesel
from fat. The new facility also creates
jobs in grading and composting. This
strengthens the local economy by saving expenses incurred by the purchase
of fuel and artificial fertilizer.
The main aspect of the project is implementing the grading of organic waste
and efficient composting by means of
a central composting facility based on
the so-called drum method. The facility
will be the largest of its kind in Europe.
Depositing waste in landfills has now
been discontinued at the old landfill
near Akureyri. However, measurements
of gas emissions from the old landfill
have been carried out and the first
drilling for collecting the gas began this
year. In the wake of this, the building of
a gas collection and refining facility is
being planned.
The Nordic Energy Municipality
2011 Project highlights sustainable energy, green growth and
energy-related climate efforts in
the Nordic countries. The initiative particularly recognises municipalities who have introduced
special efforts to undertake innovative energy projects.
The initiative is based on cooperation between the Danish and
Finnish Presidencies of the Nordic
Council of Ministers for Energy.
In total, 44 Nordic municipalities
have forwarded an application to
the Nordic Energy Municipality
2011 competition each describing
a cutting-edge energy project. Of
these 44 applicants, 14 municipalities have been nominated as
finalists.
http://www.nordicenergymunicipality.org/
NORDIC
ENERGY
MUNICIPALITY
QUOTE
Director of Executive Department
Helgi Már Pálsson, Municipality
of Akureyri
“Akureyri is an
important cultural and educational centre, as well as being a
hub of industry and services for
all of Northern Iceland. Public
transport in Akureyri, with annually 500,000 passengers is free
of charge and all the buses now
use biodiesel.
In proportion to its size, the town
makes a significant contribution
to green economic development,
and it has ambitious future plans
for carbon neutralisation.
Currently, local production of
biodiesel provides sufficient fuel
for 2.5% of the approximately
12,000 vehicles in the town. In a
city of one million inhabitants,
with a similar pattern of car ownership, this percentage would
mean a reduction in emissions
of approximately 44,000 tonnes
a year.
As a result of the operation of
the composting facility, last
year’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by approximately 6,000
tonnes. The equivalent figure for
a city of one million would be in
the region of 330,000 tonnes per
year”.
NORDIC VISION OF
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
AND GREEN GROWTH
The Nordic Energy Municipality 2011
project provides practical and concrete
examples of how the Nordic vision of
sustainable energy and green growth
may be realised and how it can show
the way forward.
Ever since the Nordic Council of Ministers adopted the first sustainabledevelopment strategy in 2000, the
Nordic countries have been working
together towards sustainable Nordic
societies. The joint Nordic vision is to
prepare for future independence from
fossil fuels or CO2 neutrality. The main
issue for the Finnish Presidency in
2011 is to address climate change at all
levels.
GREEN GROWTH AS AN
INTERNATIONAL TREND
The Nordic vision is constantly being
challenged by increases in the demand
for energy and volatile oil and energy
prices. However, these global challenges are fuelling an international trend
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT
Contact Helgi Már Pálsson, Akureyri Municipality
telephone +354 460 1000, e-mail helgi@akureyri.is,
web site www.akureyri.is
http://www.nordicenergymunicipality.org/
for green growth which offers great
economic opportunities: new markets
are being created within energy efficiency, renewables, low carbon transportation and new technologies like
carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Nordic Countries are well prepared
to benefit from the current trend in
green growth, as they constitute an
innovative and sustainable region,
both at the political level and with
regard to the development of new
technologies. Many of the practices
and instruments currently being introduced in other countries have been in
place for decades in the Nordic region,
e.g. high energy and CO2 taxes. Also,
the Nordic countries have many leading technology companies in relevant
fields as well as environmentally
conscious consumers.