Sustainable and energy-efficient energy communities (SEEC)

SEEC – Sus­tain­able Ener­gy-Effi­cient Ener­gy Com­mu­ni­ties is a cross-bor­der project fund­ed by Inter­reg Auro­ra. The project is focus­ing on the devel­op­ment and pilot­ing of sus­tain­able, ener­gy-effi­cient ener­gy com­mu­ni­ties in Arc­tic and near-Arc­tic regions. The project sup­ports the green tran­si­tion by offer­ing prac­ti­cal solu­tions tai­lored to region­al con­di­tions such as cold cli­mate, long dis­tances, and sparse pop­u­la­tion.

The objec­tive is to cre­ate solu­tions based on renew­able ener­gy, ener­gy effi­cien­cy, and local self-suf­fi­cien­cy that enhance cli­mate resilience and social jus­tice in com­mu­ni­ties. The project con­tributes to the imple­men­ta­tion of the UN Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment Goals and the EU Green Deal by pro­mot­ing zero-emis­sion ener­gy pro­duc­tion, effi­cient use of resources, fair tran­si­tion process­es, and region­al vital­i­ty.

Local dis­tri­b­u­tion sys­tem oper­a­tors (DSOs), com­pa­nies, and oth­er stake­hold­ers are involved in project. Solu­tions will be test­ed in real-life envi­ron­ments through pilots and demon­stra­tions.

Key activ­i­ties:

  • Map­ping the reg­u­la­to­ry and sup­port frame­work for ener­gy com­mu­ni­ties
  • Design­ing sus­tain­able hous­ing and opti­miz­ing local ener­gy flows
  • Devel­op­ing micro­grids and smart ener­gy man­age­ment sys­tems
  • Pro­mot­ing a fair ener­gy tran­si­tion and ener­gy democ­ra­cy
  • Test­ing and eval­u­at­ing scal­able decen­tral­ized ener­gy com­mu­ni­ty mod­els

Expect­ed results:

  • Prac­ti­cal mod­els and guide­lines for estab­lish­ing ener­gy com­mu­ni­ties
  • Tech­nol­o­gy pilots includ­ing micro­grids and ener­gy stor­age
  • Assess­ments of social, eco­nom­ic, and envi­ron­men­tal impacts
  • Scal­able solu­tions and pol­i­cy rec­om­men­da­tions for Arc­tic con­di­tions
  • Cross-bor­der col­lab­o­ra­tion and strength­ened region­al exper­tise

SEEC com­bines research, tech­nol­o­gy, local engage­ment, and inter­na­tion­al coop­er­a­tion. The results will ben­e­fit both region­al deci­sion-mak­ers and res­i­dents by lay­ing the foun­da­tion for a sus­tain­able, low-emis­sion, and com­mu­ni­ty-dri­ven ener­gy sys­tem.

Duration

1.8.2025 — 31.7.2028

Project Manager

Ville Kuit­ti­nen
Ville.Kuittinen(a)karelia.fi

Funding

Inter­reg Auro­ra

Funder’s website

SEEC – Sus­tain­able and ener­gy-effi­cient ener­gy com­mu­ni­ties