The Covenant of Mayors is one of the European Union’s main initiatives in the framework of the “2020 Climate and Energy Package”, under which Member States are committed to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption by 20% and increase energy production from renewable sources by 20% by 2020
The Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) is the practical implementation of the political commitment of a Municipality to take specific measures and execute the necessary projects to meet its climate and energy goals. The main parts of an Action Plan are: the detailed recording of the current situation, the compilation of the CO2 inventory file and energy consumption that includes all the necessary reference elements and the planning of the measures to achieve the minimum goals set by the Covenant of Mayors in order to fulfill European 20-20-20 climate and energy policy objectives.
The main studies that were included in the elaboration of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan for the Municipality of Nea Propontida, Greece, concerned the: building infrastructure and facilities, transport and renewable energy sources. In addition, all aspects that the Municipality could affect energy consumption in the long run (eg through spatial or urban planning, administrative restructuring or revision of its operational characteristics), were included.
Based on a detailed data analysis regarding the general current situation, the scientific staff of of EpsilonDevelopment Consultants developed a standard reference framework for: the existing use of environmentally friendly technologies, the type, demand and energy consumption, the balance of CO2 emissions and the needs related to the human resources as well as the institutional operational framework of the Municipality.
The required data was captured through the following actions:
- Collection and analysis of a series of data related to the CO2 emission balance, the type of energy consumption, the type and level of production of renewable energy sources, as well as other data that determined the character and operation of the Municipality.
- Use of questionnaires and interviews with municipal officials whose responsibilities related to the subject of study of an Action Plan.
- Thorough bibliographic research and evaluation of the results of relevant studies.
Based on these data, an analysis of the potential application of innovative energy technologies was carried out, with the aim of assessing their ability to reduce CO2 emissions, their economic efficiency and their applicability at the level of Local Government.
The “Sustainable Energy Action Plan of the Municipality of Nea Propontida” was consisted of three thematic units:
PART A – Overall Strategy, where the aims and objectives of the Plan were presented in combination with the organizational and financial parameters.
PART B – Baseline Emission Inventory, where the collection of results and quantification of CO2 emissions within the limits of the Municipality took place.
PART C – Planning of Actions and Measures, which described the main actions for the implementation of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan For each measure proposed in the Sustainable Energy Action Plan, there was a link to the respective field of activity and a brief description, estimating the resulting benefit, cost and expected energy savings, reduction of CO2 emissions and increase in the use of renewable energy sources.
