Municipal innovation for an all-electric future 

Today I’m chatting with Ilkka Rasanen, a 63-years old jovial Fin who is one of the innovation leaders in his municipality. llkka works for the municipality of Lappeenranta in the South East of Finland. He is Environmental Director at the City Planning Department. The 73.000 inhabitants of the city are essentially getting their heat through a district heating network which is owned by the municipality and supplied by clean energy from the municipal utility. The future in that Finnish town is electric and through this episode, you’ll understand why Lappeenranta was awarded this year’s Covenant of Mayors award as part of the Cities Heat Detox Campaign.

While we talk over video chat, a graph with green, blue and yellow lines appears on my screen. The graph Ilkka is sharing with me shows how electricity prices evolve in Finland. And guess what? They are amongst the cheapest in Europe and one reason for Finland’s big move towards electrification of heat.

What does this mean for 2030 carbon-neutrality goal? How to avoid rebound effects with cheap energy that may encourage consumption? And what innovative ways did they find to provide affordable and clean heat to cold homes in Lapeenranta?

During this interview, Ilkka takes us behind the scenes of his city’s heat strategy – with a special pride for their thermal storage systems.

They bring huge benefits for urban districts and a city overall. Besides the tech-focus, their collaborative heat policy is strongly anchored in the partnership with the university: research flows into policy and vice-versa. Lapeenranta is another example that cities are driving the clean heating transition.

The Covenant of Mayors’ Cities Heat Detox campaign empowers cities and towns to shift away from toxic heat sources, building healthier, more resilient communities. The campaign brings together over 50 cities who are leading the way. Find inspiration for your city’s heat detox at the Covenant of Mayors’ website: www.eumayors.eu.

By the way: Energy Cities is actively advocating for city’s needs when it comes to the upcoming EU Heating and Cooling Strategy. We also call for very practical support to cities, like guidelines or checklists for cities on how to carry out the planning. Check out our website for updates on our work.