Sustainable energy in Jekabpils

Jekabpils together with five other cities from Latvia participates in energy efficiency project MODEL from 2007 till 2010.The leading partner from Latvia is Social Economy Fund. The MODEL project aims at helping local authorities to become models for citizens and its main objective is to improve their practical capacities in 8 New Member States & Candidate Countries to better deal with intelligent energy issues at both individual (municipalities) and collective (national networks or embryos of networks) levels.
It particularly aims at developing actions to encourage citizens, local decision makers and stakeholders in taking their own initiatives, thus preparing the ground for sustainable energy communities through the practical activities towards civil society:

• Promoting the appointment of municipal energy managers
• Implementing multi-annual local action plans and information systems to improve energy performance of municipal properties
• Getting financial means for concrete investments
• Taking communication initiatives - incl. the Display© Campaign, Municipal Intelligent Energy Days, etc.

Municipal Intelligent Energy Day

The main direct results that MODEL expects to achieve are:

• implementation of activities such as Municipal Energy Programmes and annual Action Plans in at least 34 pilot municipalities (practice) aiming at saving at least 10% of the energy consumed in municipal properties, who will act as models and thus enhance other local authorities, to take actions (dissemination),
• promotion of awareness raising events and activities to sensitize all local stakeholders and citizens to possible sustainable actions in the field of energy (citizenship),
  
• appointment / strengthening of Energy Managers / Units in local authorities (local organisation),
  
• replicable common methodology (tool) influencing the process management, usable in the respective countries and promoted by national applicants,
• establishment / empowerment in all countries of sustainable collective capacities (such as networks) to inform local authorities, initiate, coordinate and support municipal projects, train energy managers, etc. (networking).