Practitioners and enthusiasts for energy efficient neighbourhoods can sign up for a new online training course for free

At the final conference of the international SPARCS project, a freely available online course was launched, which brings together the knowledge and experience gained in the preparation of complex energy projects at the level of neighbourhoods or building clusters, under the umbrella of the so called Positive Energy Districts (or PEDs). Experts from the CTU UCEEB lead the production of the course together with 7 partners from across Europe.

The online training course entitled PED Business Ecosystem and Stakeholder Engagement is freely available on the internet. Its creators have collected and summarized years of intensive research and innovation in the field of energy-plus neighbourhoods (PED), targeting not only city representatives, urban planners, urban developers and other professionals, but also sustainability enthusiasts from the general public.

The 12-hour course provides a structured approach to understanding PED issues. In addition to video lectures, it provides a wealth of supporting material in the form of practical 'cookbooks' with step-by-step instructions, case studies and lessons learned from SPARCS work in seven European cities. Its key themes include embedding energy-plus neighbourhoods in city development strategies, understanding and engaging local stakeholders and, of course, the business models and economic feasibility of PED projects.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 864242.