Newsletter Issue No 1 October 2013 The project National workshops For the initialization of the Green Twinning project, Green Twinning is an Intelligent Energy Europe six national workshops were organized in Greece, project which aims at strengthening the technical Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Slovenia and Spain. The and financial capacity of local authorities in the workshops aimed at informing participating fields of sustainable energy policies and municipalities about the project, their project role implementation. and the outputs/benefits they could have. In total, The Green Twinning project supports municipalities representatives of 31 out of 35 “learning” from Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia and municipalities attended the workshops while Romania to fulfill their commitments in the representatives of 9 “experienced” municipalities framework of the Covenant of Mayors initiative from the province of Granada were informed about through various tools such as training courses, a the project. helpdesk and the conclusion of twinning agreements between “learning” municipalities with little experience in sustainable energy planning and implementation and “experienced” local authorities Training Course on SEAP from Spain. development Partnership From September 27 to 29, • Regional Union of Municipalities of Attica 2012, the 3 (Coordinator) - EL days Training course on • EXERGIA Energy and Environment existing tools Consultants S.A. - EL and metho - • Sofia Energy Centre - BG dologies for SEAP development in CoM context was developed and organized by partner GI ZRMK in M- • Association of Rhodope Municipalities - Hotel in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The training course was BG well attended, with 44 participants from Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain and Slovenia. The • Polish Network “Energie Cités” - PL speakers were experts from the consortium as well • Municipality of Giurgiu - RO as external experts involved in best practice projects related to SEAP development. The main topics • Building and Civil Engineering Institute - covered were SEAP preparatory steps, data SI collection, tools and methodologies for SEAP • development in the CoM context and SEAP best Energy Agency of La Ribera - SP practice cases. The programme included guided • Municipality of Vrhnika - SI visits to low energy social housing in Ljubljana and to • Harghita County Council - Energy public waste management company Snaga. Management Agency - RO www.green-twinning.eu Newsletter Issue No 1 October 2013 Training course on SEAP Twinning Agreements implementation “A twinning is the coming together of two communities seeking, in this way, to take action with a European perspective and with the aim of facing The second Green their problems and developing between themselves Twinning training closer and closer ties of friendship” Jean Bareth, the course was first General Secretary of the Council of European organized by Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). EXERGIA and PNEC In our project, twinning agreements bring together on May 14-16, 2013 municipalities in order to develop the in the International administrations’ capacities related to the Covenant Cultural Center of of Mayors initiative and even to facilitate the Krakow in the presence of all partners and 35 adoption by both partners of successful renewable trainees from Greek, Slovenian, Polish, Romanian energies (RES) and rational use of energy (RUE) and Bulgarian municipalities. The training course initiatives implemented previously by the other concerned sustainable energy actions partner. implementation and focused on the process, The twinning partnership is a formal two-way successful case studies and innovative financing relationship that is characterized by mutual mechanisms. Several round table discussions and cooperation and responsibility for the achievement hands-on training on the actions implementation of some specified goals. Twinned organizations will process took place during the course. A study tour work shoulder to shoulder sharing information and was also organized in Niepołomice town, which is transferring know-how in order to assure the one of the first Polish cities that joined the success of the partnership. Both partners are Covenant of Mayors initiative and has since expected to gain from the project. implemented many sustainable energy actions (e.g. energy efficient lighting, installation of Μemorandum of twinning hybrid solar modules in the Polish Gymnastic Society “Falcon”, RES-based heating system in the agreements castle). The training course was chaired by Panos The basis of twinning Coroyannakis of EXERGIA S.A. and Maria partnership is Stankiewicz of PNEC. supported specifically by two documents: the work plan and the memorandum of agreement (MoA). The twinning work plan shows the particular roadmap that every partnership will follow to achieve the identified expectations, objectives and results. In order to formalize the twinning agreement, partners sign a memorandum of agreement or understanding that officially manifests Green Twinning Helpdesk the complete commitment of twinning counterparts to developing the twinning activities or work plan. http://helpdesk.green- The MoA will be signed by municipalities’ twinning.eu/home mayors/ess or deputy mayors/ess. Newsletter Issue No 1 October 2013 Twinnings in action Twinnings in action 1. Kardjali-Rubí After the creation of the twinning steering 4.l’Alcúdia-Giurgiu committee (TSC), formed by members of both municipalities and representatives of the In l’Alcúdia, on th th consultants, the municipality of Kardjali (Bulgaria) 25 and 26 of April 2013, the and Rubí (Spain) defined an initial twinning work plan, using the template provided by AER, that will kick-off meeting of the twinning be finally fine-tuned in the official kick-off (KoM) meeting foreseen in September 2013. partnership b etween this Spanish municipality and Giurgiu 2. Koscierzyna-Padul (Romania) in the framework of the Intelligent Energy On 23rd July 2013 with the Europe (IEE) Green Twinning project took place. purpose of formally During this meeting PoE (l’Alcúdia) and PoL (Giurgiu) launching the twinning discussed the collaboration work plan and reached an partnership, the kick-off agreement and, as a result, signed the formal work meeting took place in the plan, in order to formalize the twinning agreement province of Granada. The and approve a work plan that will drive the idea is to bring together all partnership to accomplish the identified expectations members and stakeholders, to notify them that the twinning partnership has begun and to make sure 5. Piaseczno-Guadix that both municipalities have a common rd During the 23 and understanding of the project, their roles and 24 th July, objectives. representatives from Piaseczno and 3.Ilioupoli-Maracena Guadix met in Spain for the KoM. During On 4th of July 2013 this meeting they the kick-off discussed the collaboration activities and reached an meeting for agreement about the specific work plan that will Ilioupoli and drive the partnership to accomplish the identified Maracena was held expectations . The Memorandum of Agreement through a telecon- (MoA ) was signed by the adviser of the Piaseczno ference in which representatives of both Mayor, Mr. Arkadiusz Strzyżewski and the deputy municipalities and the Green Twinning project mayor of Guadix, Ms. Mª Carmen Alcalá. consultants participated. As Ilioupoli has already submitted it’s SEAP for approval to the CoM, the KoM was mainly focused on the SEAP actions where Ilioupoli is interested in being supported by Maracena. In particular, Ilioupoli is aiming to learn about the “public awareness campaign” experience of Maracena, innovative mechanisms for financing of SEAP actions, Energy efficiency in municipal buildings www.green-twinning.eu and Building Energy Management Systems. Newsletter Issue No 1 Date Twinnings in action Twinnings in action 8. Smoljan-Motril 6. Kocevje- On 9th July, at Motril Huétor Tájar Town Hall, Mr. Marin In the Huétor Zahariev, vice-mayor of Tájar Town Hall the Municipality of Mr. Vladimir Smolyan, and Ms. Luisa Prebilic, mayor García Chamorro, of Kocevje and mayor of the Municipality of Motril, signed the the mayor of Huétor Tájar, Mr. Fernando Delgado Memorandum of Agreement. During the meeting signed the Memorandum of Agreement between in Spain (9-10 July 2013), Bulgarian representatives both municipalities to officially initiate the twinning visited several facilities such as Churriana de la activities in the framework of the Green Twinning Vega waste water treatment plant with biogas project . Regarding Sustainable Energy Action Plan cogeneration, Motril public street lighting system, solar thermal plants in the municipal building, Pinos (SEAP) actions, the representatives of Kocevje expressed their interest in learning about biomass, Puente biomass company, municipal electricity energy efficiency refurbishment of buildings and vehicle station and a green roof build up by Otero’s awareness raising campaigns. company. 9. Illion-Armilla During the training course organized in the 7. Vrhnika-Cúllar Vega framework of the project, the representative of On 12th of July, at Cúllar Ilion (Greece) discussed the formulated work plan Vega Town Hall, the mayor for the twinning between Ilion and Armilla with the of Vrhnika, Mr. Stojan Jakin Green Twinning partners and Gonzalo Esteban and the mayor of Cúllar (APEGR). In order to discuss how Ilion will to be Vega, Mr. Juan de Dios technically supported by Armilla in implementing a Moreno, signed the