PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
SEA will support local leaders to deliver a step change in progress towards carbon neutrality by 2040 in West-Estonian archipelago. The Climate Emergency and Energy Transition agendas require clear leadership, ambition, courage, and conviction if our 2040 targets and goals are to be achieved. SEA will create a unit of Energy and Climate consultants who, through their actions and inspiration, will drive public authorities, communities, and region. They will extend their approaches from one focused mainly on energy efficiency/renewables to the strategic goal of climate neutrality by 2040. They will set new levels of ambition compared to National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and showcase local leadership and innovation. Public Bodies on Estonian islands lack agency to implement green transition. Critical barriers include limited internal capacity and funding shortfalls. Nationally, private financing (EPC) has not been deployed. Project aggregation has not taken place. The SEA proposal focuses on accelerating the green transition in one region, archipelago, creating a replicable approach that can then be used in other (island) regions. SEA will develop and implement in phase I 12 energy projects, investment of €35M primary energy savings of 11 GWh, renewable energy delivered 42 GWh/y. Phase II beyond the project lifetime will target savings of 45 GWh, huge amount of new offshore wind energy delivered and investment €175M. The projects will be financed via a combination of Estonian and EU public funds and private financing, with a reduction in GHG of 8,048 tCO2. SEA will address the challenges in a coordinated and systematic way, building on the experience and expertise of the Tartu Region Energy Agency and Tallinn University of Technology. SEA will be the first aggregation service developed, for renovation of public buildings, decarbonizing transport, and procuring for energy agencies across multiple local authorities, addressing the financing barrier.