Energy management, transport and spatial planning in the municipality were discussed during another workshop organised within the MULTIPLY project in Sztum. On October 6th, after the workshop part of the event, the participants had an opportunity to take part in a study visit, during which they visited the Veolia Heat Plant in Sztum and a wind farm located on the premises of the municipality.

After welcoming the guests and representatives of the city participating in the project by Ms. Anna Jaskuła – Executive Director of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network “Energie Cités” and Mr. Leszek Tabor – Mayor of Sztum, the participants gathered in the boardroom of the magistrate’s office had an opportunity to recall the main assumptions of the project, its activities to date and the planned results. After a short introduction Ms. Patrycja Płonka – Project Manager of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network “Energie Cités” presented the political and legal framework of the energy transformation in the European Union and its influence on the situation and tasks of local governments in Poland.

Then, each of the cities, whose representatives were present in the boardroom, had the opportunity to present the actions they plan to implement in the next 10 years in the field of sustainable energy, transport and spatial planning in relation to the newly developed Climate and Energy Action Plans or the updated Low-Emission Economy Plans. During this part, the participants discussed the challenges faced by cities in the context of reducing emissions in the energy production, heating and transport sectors. Many issues related to energy management in the city and emerging problems concerning the effective use of renewable energy sources in the city were also raised. Representatives of the Veolia Północ company, which manages the heating plant in Sztum and which was visited by the participants during study visit, also took part in the discussion. Their experience in the field of energy or their insight into local government problems from the point of view of a production and distribution company was a valuable part of the discussion. The Mayor then went on to present the city’s efforts to develop RES in its area, and Sztum as a short-distance city where all of the most important city functions are available to residents within walking distance. The next point of the meeting was the presentation of the plans for modernisation of the heating plant in Sztum by Mr. Jarosław Kuśmierczyk, Regional Director of Veolia Północ sp. z o.o., which will be based on the use of low-emission sources such as natural gas (gas cogeneration) or biomass.

After the presentation and discussion part, the group of workshop participants began the study tour with a visit to a district heating plant. Guided by Mr. Jarosław Kuśmierczyk and Mr. Marek Kaszowiak, Development Director at Veolia Północ sp. z o.o., the guests had the opportunity to learn about the operation system of this type of facility and its advanced flue gas cleaning system. The second part of the planned trip took place by bus, which drove the participants to the wind farm in Podstolin. There they had the opportunity to see up close the wind turbines producing electricity for the entire municipality . The Mayor of Sztum, who accompanied the group during the trip, presented the most important information concerning the wind farm and neighbouring photovoltaic farms, shared the city’s experience in cooperation with private investors who decided to invest in RES in the municipality.

After this short but informative trip on renewable energy sources, the MULTIPLY project cities representatives returned to their municipalities, inspired by Sztum’s activities and enriched with new experiences in energy management, to promote the use of RES and implement the idea of integrated urban planning.

We would like to thank all those involved in the organisation of the workshops, the staff of the Municipal and Communal Office in Sztum, and in particular Mr. Mayor Leszek Tabor for their commitment and guidance.