8 June 2015
The “Mountain Week” is a programme of events (conferences, exhibitions, meetings, etc.) dedicated to sustainable development, agriculture, mountains products around the world, promoted by mountainous countries and international organizations that have adhered to the initiative. Those events will take place both within the pavillions of the exhibiting countries and in other areas of the city of Milan, but also in mountain areas.
Today’s program:
Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE)
Energy Forum at EXPO 2015
08 June – 10:30, EXPO 2015 – Biodiversity Park – Teatro al Centro della Terra
Renewable energy development as new challenge for spatial planning in the Alps
The development of renewable energy systems (RES) requires the designation of appropriate areas, the identification of trade-offs and the integration in existing regional structures. Especially the development of renewable energy infrastructures with high spatial impacts and great visibility, like wind or solar power plants, biomass infrastructures or hydropower, will be developed on the regional level, including cross-border regions. The challenge lies in developing effective strategies to minimise trade-offs between the relevant spatial requirements of RES and competing issues like nature protection or tourism.
This needs to be seen as new task for spatial and regional planning policies which require new planning tools and strategies to better integrate renewable energy development in spatial and regional planning. A common strategy for integrating RES development in spatial and regional planning will be difficult to develop and implement at transnational level, as all Alpine regions face different legal and political frameworks. However, How can we best develop our Alpine cooperation and benefit from each other’s experience? Do we need common principles and guidelines… a cooking recipe for RES?
The Energy Forum on 8th June 2015 during the Expo in Milan will have the objective to discuss the potential role of common principles and guidelines for RES development in the Alps and to explore an appropriate level for their specification.
We are looking forward to a fruitful discussion with you at the EXPO in Milan.
Programme
Energy Forum, Monday 8th June, 10.30 -14.30
Location: xxx
EXPO Milano 2015
10.15 Coffee and Registration
10.45 Main results from the Energy Platform under Swiss Presidency
Federal Office for Spatial Development, Switzerland
Dr. Maria Lezzi
11.00 How to understand future Energy policies and their regional and local interpretation?
Prof.Christian Schaffner
11.15 Renewable Energy in the Alps: what the researchers can tell us
EURAC, Prof. Wolfram Sparber
11.30 recharge.green: what lessons can we learn from the Alpine Space project?
Chris Walzer
11.45 Best Practise Collection: what can we expect from the German Presidency?
Martin Waldhausen
12.00 Panel and Plenum Discussion Spatial Planning:
What are the main problems of RES for spatial planning and how can we solve them? How can the Alpine Convention help?
Tanja Bogataj (Slovenia), Dr. Maria Lezzi, Flavio Ruffini (South Tirol)
12.45 Panel and Plenum Discussion: Common guidelines yes or no?
Markus Reiterer (PSAC), Anita Konrad (cipra), Cassiano Luminati (Region Poschiavo), Martin Waldhausen (German presidency), Ulrich Delang (SAC)
13.30 Synthesis
Thomas Scheurer, tbc
Light lunch
Moderation: Taja Ferjancic (PSAC) and Silvia Jost
Languages: French, German, Italian, Slovene
Input Paper for the Energy Forum Milano
Renewable energies in the Alps – towards a set of common principles and guidelines
Background and objectives of the workshop
Under the Swiss presidency in 2013 and 2014, the Energy platform of the Alpine Convention has discussed and developed activities along five major elements: consumption, production, governance, EU interface and knowledge. While consumption has been extensively tackled, the element production through renewable energy systems (RES) has not been a major focus.
The Alpine regions have very diverse potentials to develop the different RES technologies and have implemented their own strategies to promote RE development. Common measures or instruments are not necessary and would probably not be acceptable, but common principles and guidelines which can be applied by regional stakeholders would be feasible and useful.
The Energy Forum on 8th June 2015 during the Expo in Milano will have the objective to discuss the potential role of common principles and guidelines for RES development in the Alps and to explore an appropriate level for their specification
Towards principles for RES development in tha Alps
The latest decisions of the Permanent Committee as well as the report of the Permanent Secretariat on activities of the Energy platform include some leading principles that could be used as starting point:
Model region: the Alpine region shall become a model region for RES development
Minimise trade-offs: RES shall be developed in a sustainable way, reducing conflicts with land-use and nature protection
Decarbonisation: up to 2050, the Alps should be fully decarbonised, meaning a near 100% renewable energy mix
Improved Energy-Governance: governance in the field of energy shall be improved to secure acceptance as well as social and environmental compatibility of RES development
Questions for the workshop discussion:
Which role do you see for a common set of principles on RES development in the Alps?
Which level of commitment would be appropriate to implement those principles (e.g. as decision of the Permanent Committee, as political resolution, etc.)
Do you think that further principles should be added?
Should these principles be further specified and if yes, how?
Towards guidelines for RES developments in the Alps
In a second step, a common set of principles could be supplemented by specific guidelines to guarantee their implementation. Those guidelines could be developed:
In a general way, cross-cutting across all RES technologies
In a technology-specific way
To guarantee that the guidelines are applicable and useful, a technology-specific definition seems reasonable. Where characteristics of all technologies are similar, common guidelines can be defined. As hydropower development has already been discussed in the frame of developing the “Common guidelines for the use of small hydropower in the Alpine region”, it does not seem necessary to go beyond this framework. The discussions should thus concentrate on the following technologies:
Wind energy
Photovoltaics (PV)
Biomass
Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta
“The conquest of the Matterhorn ” by Livio Viano
08 June – 19:00, Expo Milan
The theatre production of Livio Viano tells of the first climb to the Gran Becca on the Italian side. It replays the challenges faced by Jean Antoine Carrel and his companions in their climb to the top of the Nobile Scoglio on 17th July 1865. Roberto Anglisani impersonates in his monologue, Antoine Carrel, and re-echoes his life as “bersagliere”. As the play develops it becomes the story of an entire population, that of Aosta Valley, a people used to the harsh reality of their environment and where the mountain is the dual symbol of great pain and great joy.
Introducing Hervé Barmasse, and his testimony to Valle d’Aosta autonomous Region in Expo, a fourth generation Alpine guide and world famous mountaineer. He is from Valtournenche, at the foot of the Matterhorn which celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first conquest in 2015.
Do you want to know all the events at Mountain Week 2015? Visit the website, click here