As one of the founders of the Agency (among two other cities through the Intelligent Energy Europe programme), Koprivnica initially showed interest in RES and EE but real dedication and desire for changes had to be proven through work and decision making.
Since the start of the Agency in August 2009, the city and the agency cooperated on many different tasks, from development of studies and project applications to consulting, education and promotion.
Koprivnica has marked itself as a pioneer in the fields of RES and EE in Croatia. Indeed it is the first Croat city that developed a constant system for 50% tax reduction or full exemption from promoters in case they require a building permit for low energy and passive construction with installation of solar systems. It is also the first city that constructed a passive residential building (currently constructing the second one; each buildings has 28 apartments).
The Agency contributed to this project by developing the initial energy model, evaluating the implemented energy model, technical and economic analysis of the HVAC systems, and overall technical support in project implementation.
Koprivnica is also very active in different organizations and initiatives where most significant are the membership in Energy Cities and the signature of the Covenant of Mayors. Through these initiatives the city is constantly setting new goals for itself and its development. That is why cooperation with the Agency is much needed.
Another example of successful cooperation was the Sustainable Energy Action Plan that the Agency developed in 2011. The City Council of Koprivnica adopted the Plan during the same year.
Furthermore, at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012, the City and the Agency hosted two international conferences on ESCO models and structural funds. Conferences hosted speakers from 6 different countries (Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia) and were visited by over 200 people. The goal of these conferences was to present existing and functioning models of financing investments and development, but also benefits and obstacles that Croatia as a country might face if implementing these models. Targeted groups at these conferences were entities in public and private sector.
The peak of successful cooperation came during the last 9 months when the Agency developed 26 projects either directly or indirectly targeted to the City of Koprivnica (and other city founders). Projects are addressing different target groups (local authorities, citizens or private sector) and covering different topics related to EE and RES: transport, tourism, strategic development, education, promotion, environmental protection, etc. What the Agency is constantly trying to achieve with EU funded projects is to add value and innovation to the targeted area. Here are some of the examples of projects targeted at or jointly developed with Koprivnica:
- Project on electric mobility where the goal is identification of barriers (legal, technological, economic, etc.) for use of electric vehicles, their analysis and proposal of activities and decisions that can educate, motivate and stimulate people to overcome these barriers and use electric vehicles in the future
- Project on energy savings in private sector - the aim of the project is creation of a network of centers providing energy and environmental audits to companies which will lead towards cleaner production model and high efficiency
- Project on energy efficiency acting as a bridge among university students, market players and media actors and as a facilitator between young students (future market players) and the market, contributing to changes of behavior among consumers (young students as a vehicle to families)
- Project tackling procurement procedures and public tenders by proposing innovative solutions in the area of public procurement. More specifically, the project will develop e-learning materials, face-to-face training modules and a “community of practice” which will be used for upgrading both the staff and the management in the public institutions and the potential bidders in the small and medium sized companies.
Both sides hope that successful cooperation will continue in the future via old activities but more importantly through implementation of future projects that both sides expect will be positively evaluated in different programs in the coming period.
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