From the 18th to the 20th August, delegates from Riga City, Riga Energy Agency, Mārupe Municipality and Riga Planning Region (Latvia) joined representatives from the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kiel City and Kiel University (Germany). The team from Latvia travelled to Schleswig-Holstein in Germany to take part in a three-day pairing meeting.
The first day consisted of an opening evening onboard a Kiel-based ship, with a presentation given by Kiel City about their aims towards a Climate Protection City. Themes included the Climate Protection Masterplan, the focus on community engagement, knowledge sharing and awareness building.
Day two was a field trip to visit Schleswig-Holstein’s renewable energy projects. Participants visited the small village of Sprakebüll to view their wind farm, solar park and district heating projects. This followed with a journey to the northern end of the state, with a presentation about Flensburg’s climate protection masterplan, together with the surrounding region and the local climate cooperation.
Solar PV and REN-district heating were given the spotlight in Hürup, with a guided walk through the village, before ending the tour in the town of Schleswig. The Stadtwerke Schleswig, a 100% community-owned public service company, showcased their cold district heating with near-surface heat collectors, ice energy storage and heat pumps.
The final day of the pairing meeting between Latvia and Germany saw the site visits continue, with a visit to Wiemersdorf (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). Here, team members were able to visit a community-powered wind farm and a carbon sink by recharging humus.
