Thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Housing and the Technical University Madrid, the Spanish people were the first in Europe to experience the excitement created by a competition among universities striving to design and build the most innovative home in Solar Decathlon Europe 2010.

The results were encouraging in every single aspect: both from a general point of view and judging the event strictly as a competition, from a technological point of view and from the social impact and publicity it generated.

SOLAR DECATHLON EUROPE COMPETITION 2010

The Solar Decathlon is a competition organized by the U.S. Department of Energy that first gathered teams from mainly American universities. Teams were asked to design and build self-sufficient, solar-powered houses equipped with technologies enabling maximum energy efficiency. Their houses were built and exhibited at the “Solar Village” of the National Mall, Washington D.C., where they were evaluated and competed within ten different categories (Decathlon).

Trondheim has seen many successes in the +CityxChange project, due to the effective collaboration between a series of partners in a range of sectors where new working methodologies have been pioneered to collaborate across fields. The municipality has taken on the role of an active coordinator and facilitator, striving to make real physical changes in the city.

Key outcomes and achievements in Trondheim:

Through the +CityxChange project Limerick has worked hard to gain significant knowledge and understanding of the conditions to support the creation of PEDs. Working with many stakeholders to overcome obstacles, PED development is being advanced in the city through various initiatives such as the Pilot Retrofitting Grant Scheme aimed at retrofitting historic buildings. 

Key outcomes and achievements in Limerick:

Within IRIS, Utrecht combines solar energy, affordable social housing and broad access to electric mobility. These solutions are developed together with citizens and built on open data to accelerate change.

Home to 350.000 inhabitants, Utrecht is the fourth largest municipality in the Netherlands and the fastest growing city in the country with a predicted 400.000 inhabitants in 2025. Utrecht's core ambition is to be a climate neutral city by 2030.

Nice develops energy neutral districts deploying extensive renewables and electric mobility solutions. In this tech-savvy city, a digital marketplace for mobility, energy and environmental data fosters innovative applications and empowers suppliers and citizens to be proactive about their sustainability.

Gothenburg service providers, citizens and administrations work together to overcome urban sustainability challenges through a mix of open data, open innovation and public dialogue. The city’s IRIS solutions focus on testing innovative energy management and storage to achieve energy positive districts.