A joint Nordic project that has just been launched brings together actors from Finland, Sweden and Norway to develop new generation energy communities for the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

The project is funded by the Interreg Aurora programme and is led by Lapland University of Applied Sciences.

The Sustainable Energy-Efficient Energy Communities (SEEC) project aims to create decentralized, community-based solutions based on renewable energy and energy efficiency that respond to the specific challenges of the Arctic region: long and cold winters, sparsely populated areas, high transmission costs and the growing need for a green transition.

The SEEC project will develop a framework based on four main themes:

  1. Stakeholder engagement, regulation and support mechanisms,
  2. Sustainable community design and energy optimization,
  3. Microgrids, renewable energy integration and smart management, and
  4. A business model for establishing and scaling energy communities

Lapland University of Applied Sciences plays a central role in the project. The nanogrid environment on the Kemi campus will serve as a physical testbed for simulating energy communities, including the development of the functionality of the distributed energy community model. In addition, Lapland University of Applied Sciences teams will bring expertise in ecosystems, smart management systems, user interfaces, VR technology and energy data management to the project.

The project partners – including Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Luleå University of Technology and UiT, the Arctic University of Norway – bring expertise in areas such as AI-based energy management, energy storage technologies and regulation. The collaboration brings tangible added value to all parties and enables the scalability of the results across national borders.

The SEEC project not only designs technical solutions, but also lays the foundation for community-based, fair and sustainably produced energy that serves the Arctic communities of the future.

The project launch event will be held in Kemi on 28 August and anyone interested in the topic can participate online. Read more about the launch in the Lapland UAS event calendar.