FARNET
Fisheries Areas Network

Good Practice Short Story

Eco-diversifying the local economy

In Poland, the North Kaszuby FLAG supported the setting up of an experimental wind turbine in a local engineering company, helping to establish a new local energy supply, to promote economic diversification, and to create a new educational offer.
Wind turbine
The wind turbine is relatively small for the company needs, but still provides about 20% of our energy. It was set up to show local people that it can be a feasible solution for them. We are lucky – along our coast the wind blows almost constantly, but it is important to have the skills to choose the right turbine and adapt to it!
Zdzisław Karsznia, owner of Elektro-Usługi

The North Kaszuby FLAG on Poland’s Baltic coast identified the environment and the climate as important local development themes. The FLAG has even opened a small educational centre for renewable energies in its own building. To ensure the impact of its work, it prioritised projects contributing to these objectives in its selection process. But far from leaving beneficiaries to their own devices, the FLAG also decided to guide stakeholders in the right direction.

A good example of this is the case of Zdzisław Karsznia Elektro-Usługi, a local company providing energy transmission services. The owner proposed a FLAG project to renovate part of an old building he had bought to house the company’s office. But following the FLAG’s suggestion, the entrepreneur decided also to install a small wind turbine of a type that can be installed in private homes – even though home turbines are really rare in the area. This extension of the project also meant creating one new job, thus contributing to the creation of sustainable non-seasonal jobs, unrelated to fishing or tourism (sectors on which the area is too dependent).

Wind power was an unexplored sector in the area, and the company’s new premises were perfect to install a new device to test the suitability of this alternative energy supply. If it succeeds, it could be the first of many installations improving the region’s energy independence and security.

In addition to offering the company’s future customers a chance to see how this operation and technical possibilities can work, the location has been also a successful place for school visits. In the first 19 months since the ending of the project, approximately 450 children from kindergartens and primary schools have come to visit the enterprise to learn about renewable energies.

Funding

Budget €120 000
EU contribution €40 000
  • EMFF: €40 000
Other public contribution €7 000
  • National: €7 000
Private contribution €73 000

Organisations

Zdzisław Karsznia Elektro-Usługi

Contact details

FLAG Contacts

Mr. Daniel Lessnau
+48 77 46 890
Poland
Publication date: 
26/04/2021
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