Energy planning using strategic environmental assessment – exploring new tools in a Swedish municipality

Anders Mårtensson and Jenny Stenlund Nilsson, Linköping University
Anna Björklund, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Jessica Johansson, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)

Keywords

strategic environmental assessment, energy planning, sustainable energy system, local energy system, environmental assessment tools, scenario methods

Abstract

Development of local energy systems, i.e. supply, distribution and use of energy in a municipality, is crucial for overall environmental performance of national energy systems. It follows that availability and effectiveness of instruments to control this development are of great interest. For local authorities, energy planning may be such an instrument. Swedish legislation mandates each local authority to issue a plan for all supply and use of energy. In accordance with the EU directive 2001/42/EC, legislation now also requires that such plans include environmental assessment. This is often referred to as strategic environmental assessment (SEA).

An ongoing research project is reported where tools for SEA are implemented and evaluated in municipal energy planning. The hypothesis is that such tools will improve the planning process, compared with current practice, and subsequently the energy plan in terms of its ability to direct the development of local energy systems towards less environmental impact. This development includes both increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources.

A planning process based on earlier studies of energy planning, on the EU-directive, and on earlier SEA processes is proposed and implemented in a Swedish municipality. Several tools are provided, such as, scenario analysis, environmental life cycle analysis, and public participation in the form of citizen panels. The main research question that will eventually be analysed by evaluating the process and its outcome is: "Does the use of SEA tools lead to improved energy planning from an environmental point of view?"