Positive Energy Districts are coming to Prague

News, 23.02.2023
Representatives of CTU UCEEB, Prague City Hall and city companies took part in the official launch of the international project ASCEND (Accelerating poSitive ENergy Districts), which focuses on building energy-plus districts in Europe. This is the first time that Prague will systematically strive to achieve a plus energy balance in one of its districts.

In addition to Prague, the packed consortium of cities includes Lyon and Munich, as well as Alba Iulia, Stockholm, Charleroi, Porto and Budapest. The first two cities are models for the partners, making ASCEND similar in structure to its sister project SPARCS, which UCEEB CTU has been implementing for the fourth year together with the city of Kladno.

Prague is building a new neighbourhood for two to four thousand inhabitants in Dolní Počernice. ASCEND will answer the question of how this district should be designed in terms of energy management, but also in terms of the data that can be collected on its functioning. The Prague consortium is represented by Operátor ICT a.s., the Prague Development Company and UCEEB, which has been given a key task: to draw up a detailed energy plan and to examine the continuity with the energy community activities carried out by the Prague Renewable Energy Community.

Prague also benefits from being able to consult directly with foreign partners on their progress in similar projects. On the Lyon side, for example, the municipal company SPL Lyon Confluence, which is also the coordinator of the ASCEND project, is investing in the gradual revitalisation of a central area at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, which is to be home to nearly 20 000 inhabitants. This is very similar to Prague's intention to gradually develop the area around Bubny station. In addition, Munich is reconnecting existing buildings to the district heating system, switching to biomass as the main source of heating in this part of the city.

In the area of urban innovation, we also launched the GLocalFlex project in February, which we will present in more detail in a future update.