The Nordic Region has a well-established position as a world leader when it comes to renewable energy (Weber & Donald Smith 2016). In all five countries, both policy and funding landscapes are favourable to maintaining, and even strengthening, this position. In 2014, it was estimated that 38% of the total primary energy supply in the Nordic Region came from renewable sources (Weber & Donald Smith 2016). As a result, a comprehensive review of renewable energy initiatives in the Nordic countries is well beyond the scope of this publication. Instead, we focus on a small selection of initiatives that demonstrate the potential for renewable energy initiatives to contribute to regional development.
The cases highlighted here include large-scale projects that make, or have the potential to make, a significant impact on the country’s overall generation of renewable energy (e.g. Case 31. The future of energy production in Greenland), projects that are particularly novel (e.g. Case 33. Kymijärvi II, the world’s first eco-gas fuelled power plant; Case 35. Generating biodiesel from fishwaste in Åland), and examples where renewable energy makes a substantial contribution to local communities (e.g. Case 32. Lillestrøm - big things happen in small societies, Case 36. Local buy-in fuels low-carbon economy in Samsø).
All clean tech and renewable energy cases: