2Sustain

This week, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, Media guru and philanthropist Ted Turner, and 150 VIP guests celebrated the first concrete outcome at Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The launch of Sustainia100. PowerMatching City, the world’s first total-concept smart grid deployment project, has been chosen for this prestigious list of solutions.

PowerMatching City — a live smart grid project involving 25 households in the Hoogkerk district in the Northern part of the Netherlands — has demonstrated that it is possible to create a smart grid with a corresponding market model, using existing technologies. The system enables consumers to freely exchange electricity and keeps the comfort level up to par. Being the first real-life smart grid community in the world and having delivered the world’s first results from a total-concept smart grid deployment project, PowerMatching City is playing an important role in the development of smart grids and the transition towards a sustainable energy system.

Twenty-five homes were connected with each other as part of the trial, and equipped with micro combined heat and power systems (High Efficiency boilers), hybrid heat pumps, smart meters, PV panels, charging stations for electric vehicles and other smart household appliances. These homes collectively constitute a smart energy system. The project is conducted by distribution system operator Enexis, energy company Essent, gas infrastructure company Gasunie, system integrator ICT Automatisering and knowledge institute TNO, led by energy consulting and testing & certification firm DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability. Knowledge partners of PowerMatching City are Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.

In view of the successful results, the project has been continued and expanded. This follow-up phase is focusing more on the effects of the expansion (from 25 to approximately 70 households), consumer involvement (via an interactive interface) and the effect of the introduction of real-life propositions to the customer, developed by the energy company.

Gathered from 56 countries spread over six continents, Sustainia100 is a complete guide to innovative and scalable solutions instrumental in creating sustainable societies. Building on ready and available solutions only, Sustainia100 is as a tangible tool for sustainability professionals — from politicians to CEOs — dedicated to create desirable and sustainable societies.

Individually, the solutions represent sustainable innovation in areas such as city planning, energy, fashion, water and waste management, high-tech and transportation. Collectively, they provide a guide of the building blocks available for transforming our societies.

Sustainia100 is a cornerstone in Sustainia. A construction site for the desirable society we could live in if we implemented ready and available solutions. Developed by world-leading companies, organizations and experts in close collaboration with UN Global Compact and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s initiative Regions20, Sustainia is the first holistic introduction to the attractive sustainable future.

Sustainia100 solutions are nominees for the Sustainia Award, which honors outstanding performance within sustainability. The winner will be announced at a ceremony later this year in Copenhagen.