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Swedish port city in green transformation
April 28, 2009 - by Emma Ritch, Cleantech Group
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Swedish developers are in the midst of transforming the former industrial port of Malmo into the world's first sustainable city using 100 percent renewable energy and electricity for public buildings by 2016.
The project is expected to show city planners around the world how to use existing technolgies to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing quality of life.
Roughly 10 years into the project, about 40 hectares of Malmo by the west harbor overlooking Copenhagen have been redeveloped into a sustainable community, meeting the goal of 100 percent of energy and electricity from renewables.
“In the 1980s the industry collapsed and the area went into a rapid decline,” said Trevor Graham, head of sustainable development for Malmo. “We had this process of recreating an economy and recreating a city.”
The city plans to expand the Western Harbor sustainable development city-wide, with all public buildings expected to use 100 percent renewable energy and electricity by 2016.
The sleek urban development is a far cry from the city that deteriorated after the loss of its port industry. Through partnerships between the city and private sector, Malmo began incorporating clean technologies such as green roofs, district heating, stormwater collectors, and underground energy storage.
“Now Malmo is seen as a leading city for sustainable urban development in the world,” Graham said. “It’s pretty scary no one’s gotten further than we have. We have massive challenges ahead of us.”
Graham led a group of investors, entrepreneurs and consultants on a tour of Malmo’s sustainable development today as part of the kickoff for the Cleantech Forum XXII in Copenhagen.
The Turning Torso, the EU’s tallest residential building, which was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Malmo started work on the first phase of the renovations to the west harbor area in 1999, with the development finished by 2001. The second and third phases have now been completed, with the fourth phase set to begin in 2010.
The redeveloped area of Malmo’s Western Harbor district is operating on 100 percent renewable energy and electricity. The energy is comprised of heat pumps, solar collectors, and organic residue. About 99.8 percent of the electricity comes from wind power, while photovoltaics make up the remainder. Seen here in the far distance, this offshore wind farm provides about 40 percent of the household energy.
Malmo requires that many of the building elements have two uses. Here, Graham points out some of the only photovoltaic panels in Western Harbor, which can slide out to provide shade below. Such PV systems are owned by the utility and placed on buildings with the owner's permission in Malmo. However, solar PV isn't as cost effective as the city's other energy technologies.
Solar thermal is more commonly used than solar PV. Malmo requires that such systems be incorporated into the facade as part of the design. Here, you see one of the least energy efficient buildings in Western Harbor. Still, the solar themal installation to the right helps reduce its energy use. The separately owned restaurant on the ground floor uses local organic foods, organic cotton uniforms, and green furniture.
The grey structure was the first prefab building in the development and was the most energy efficient building in the first phase.
The buildings were designed with an emphasis on variety of color, style and height. Here, a Mediterranean-themed building sits next to structures designed with a Northern Europe style. In the backdrop is the modern architectural design of the Turning Torso building, which is the tallest residential building in the EU.
Here a bog is located in the middle of a housing development to help with rainwater runoff. Many of the buildings also incorporate green roofs.
This glass bubble was designed to provide a winter garden along the oceanfront.
Malmo uses fairly large buildings as wind breaks along the seafront to reduce gusts within the city.
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