The Story so far...

SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Introductions SMALLEST is the project for renewable energy in the SMALLEST communities. The Northern Periphery Programme is the funding programme for the most remote rural communities on the Northern fringes of Europe. SMALLEST helps these communities become energy independent. The NPP funds projects that help these communities to become self-sustaining. SMALLEST and the NPP could have been made for one another.

The theme of our story is energy, and the battle to bring renewable energy to our world in place of the evils of traditional energy. The resources nature can renew are able to give us cleaner energy that will cost us less and last us longer than the resources we have been using, which have brought us to the precipice of our downfall – an earth too warm for humans to inhabit. The place of the battle is the Northern edges of Europe, the remote places where life is hard and people are scarce. These are the places where some of the richest sources of renewable energy can be found. Yet life here is facing the greatest threat. The struggle for economic survival in these regions has caused people to give up and leave. The drain on their resources is a continual challenge to their ability to make life viable in these places. They are among the most beautiful, most remote, most forbidding and most dramatic places on Earth. Our story is a story of the battle to help these places survive and grow strong.

Our story is a drama. It is a battle against the odds. It is the little guy against the big guy, David against Goliath. It is a universal story for all time. Yet it is also peculiarly and crucially a story of now. As at no time before in the history of mankind, our story concerns itself with mankind’s survival.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

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NPP Staff

The characters in the story are the organisations engaged in the fight. These are not faceless organisations with a bureaucratic mission to confuse and obfuscate. These are organisations with human faces, the people who care enough about the battle to put their own working lives on the line and be judged by what they can achieve.

Denise Pirie (front and centre, wea ring black) alongside the SMALLEST partners at the SMALLEST partners meeting in Strathpeffer, June 201 0

NPP Regional Contact Point for Scotland, Denise Pirie I am the Regional Contact Point for Scotland which means I get the good part of the job - meeting new people and helping with projects that partners are passionate about. I have been to the most amazing places in the NPP area that have involved interesting routes and methods of travel. The moments I remember most about the SMALLEST project are: meeting Nick in Copenhagen on my very first trip to see the Secretariat, where we went for a meal and he gave me an introduction to the world of NPP; hosting a Scottish Partner meeting in Nairn (allowing projects and partners to interact and make new connections) where Nick and Ewan attended showing off their wonderful SMALLEST DVD; and attending a medieval dinner (as part of a lead partner seminar) in Bunratty with Ewan and Ken where we ate our food with our hands and sampled the local mead. Never a dull moment and always great fun.

The IRRI Operations Team

The Northern Periphery Programme (NPP) is a funding organisation which gives out grants from the European Union to help communities in the Northern fringes of Europe. Here we meet Niclas Forsling and Christopher Parker, Jim Millard and Denise Pirie. These are the generals in the battle, they are the Kings and Princes of the story, who see the battlefield and understand how the landscape will form events. These are the strategists who decide where to assemble their forces for the greatest effect. It is their vision that will decide success or failure. The NPP is the leader of the good guys. It is a united organisation with a calm face, a professional cast of mind, which notably brings a humanity and kindness to everything it does. The NPP brings the considered maturity of experience, but with a smile. When the NPP walks into a room, everyone is pleased.

Denise Pirie NPP Head Secretariat and Desk Officer for SMALLEST, Niclas Forsling In my experience, the focus for renewable energy is often on large scale wind or marine generation. The SMALLEST initiative shows that there are also real opportunities for generation and consumption on a smaller, complementary scale with benefits for individuals and communities through adding value, retaining and re-cycling revenue and creating jobs. It’s this local aspect – bringing in relevant expertise to support communities – which made SMALLEST an attractive proposal for NPP funding.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 The SMALLEST partnership is the NPP’s army. These are the forces which are expected to fight the battle for the Northern edges of Europe. They must win. They are characterised by their own roots in the Northern Periphery. These are plants as hardy and tough in their way as the communities they are trying to help. Here we find their HQ, in the wild moorlands above Dumfries, the office of International Resources and Recycling Institute. Nick Lyth, Ewan Ramsay, Steve Taylor, Amy Clarke and Karen Twatt are all visible here, people whose lives are committed to the cause of resource use and resource management.

Lead Partner – IRRI

Operations Director, Ewan Ramsay I work for the Lead Partner of SMALLEST, IRRI. I am the contact point for the NPP for the project and enjoy interacting with all of the partners and communities across the region on a daily basis. I live in a small community in the Scottish Borders, with my wife and three young daughters and regularly find myself battling the weather conditions just to get out of the house!!! I find the SMALLEST project an extremely enjoyable group of partners to work with. All of the partners get on very well together and we all seem to have the knack of engaging with really interesting, creative and adaptable communities who are eager to learn and engage with us. Some of the travel across the region has been interesting to say the least – the Faroes was extraordinary in the extreme!!! From tunnels which took us under the sea, to the pickled herring, to the driving rain (non-stop for three days!!). Joensuu was equally enjoyable but very different from a scenic point of view.

at the Nick Lyth presenting Joensu SES2010 conference in

Director of IRRI, Nick Lyth I work for the Lead Partner, IRRI, which is a treat for me as it means I talk to all the partners on a regular basis. Names can be a problem. It took a while to learn how to pronounce Vilhjalmur. Enok was easier, and Ken easiest of all. This partnership is crowded with interesting and unusual people who have become good friends in a short space of time. The Northern Periphery breeds a certain kind of person – resilient, patient, friendly, open and courteous, as well as being ready to solve problems. The people I meet are probably my favourite part of the job. I very much care about helping to save our world, but this is the hardest part of the job. The moments I remember most are the walk through Inverness in the pouring rain to Hootenanny’s, recommended by our local contact Denise, a traditional Scottish restaurant which served Turkish food; watching Norry play golf outside our hotel in Strathpeffer; meeting Derek and Elaine’s Dean in Limavady; and the darts-playing woman who owned the bar we drank in at Klaksvik, where Ewan was given more aniseed shooters than he wanted by sailors celebrating something they had long since forgotten. From IRRI we have attended events in Scotland and N Ireland, as well as visiting Ireland twice to explore possibilities. We were delighted to be asked to a first-rate event in Nairn, held for Scottish NPP partners...

Ewan Ramsay

One of the more amusing stories was when I was speaking with Enok (our Icelandic partner) the day after the volcanic eruption. All of the air space around the UK and Central Europe had ground to a halt so I thought I should phone him in Iceland to see how he was bearing up. When he answered the phone he was very cheery, announcing that there was clear blue sky above him and all internal Icelandic flights were working as normal – so much for ash clouds!!!! During the first year of the project we have also been lucky to travel to a range of places within Scotland ranging from Eskdalemuir and Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway to Shetland at the very far north of Scotland. I am looking forward to visiting Iceland in 2011 and to helping our remote rural communities to engage in renewable energy in a more active way.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 Project Assistant, Karen Twatt I started working on the SMALLEST project for the lead partner, IRRI, in March 2010. I was brought up on the Orkney Isles which are located 10 miles off the North Eastern coast of Scotland, on the Northern Periphery of Europe, hence the funny name, accent and unruly behaviour.

SMALLEST partners in Alness, lead by Melanie Macrae

SMALLEST partners from Norther n Ireland, Derek Bond from University of Uls ter and Terry Waugh from Action Renewa bles

Karen Twatt

SMALLEST Partners Meeting in Strathpeffer, Scotland

SMALLEST partners walking up to the wi nd turbine at the Alness Golf Club

During partner meetings, I am regularly irritating the partners with my camera. I discovered the true extent of Leanne’s camera shyness at the partners meeting in Joensuu (see below). The partners meeting in Strathpeffer stands out for me as it was the first time I met many of the partners in SMALLEST. I was slightly apprehensive about entering a project that had already been in operation for a year. However this couldn’t have been more unnecessary as everyone was remarkably welcoming and I now feel as though I’ve been involved in the project from the beginning. IRRI wanted to produce a short film about the SMALLEST project during the meeting. I was designated runner for the video production team, escorting partners to the filming area and prepping them for their 15 minutes of fame. Helena and Jarmo teamed up, Elizabeth had a clear distaste for the spot light and Vilhjálmur was a one hit wonder (we couldn’t stop him). IRRI also arranged a study trip to the Transition Town of Alness where we were guided by the lovely Melanie Macrae from Community Energy Scotland. We were lucky enough to meet local guides who showed us around and answered all our questions on their renewable energy installations.

e extent

Leanne Breen showing the tru of her camera shyness

SMALLEST partners out for dinner in Joensuu

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Then we have their partners. . . ...the Scottish organisations, PURE Energy Centre, and Inverness College. PURE is based on the northernmost island in Shetland, called Unst. A craggy outcrop in the thunderous seas of the North Atlantic, Unst is a place where voices are drowned in the noise of the wind. Elizabeth Johnson comes to SMALLEST from Unst, with a voice that rivals the force of the wind and speaks up for the need to bring this natural energy under control.

Daniel Aklil & Elizabeth Johnson

Daniel Aklil

Elizabeth Johnson

PURE Energy Centre Both Daniel Aklil and Elizabeth Johnson work for the Pure Energy Centre, which is a company with strong community roots. The SMALLEST project ethos is similar to the Pure Energy Centre ethos and is the key to the development of communities. For us the most important outcome of this project is mentoring. Doing this, we meet substantial numbers of community members and do our best to try to help them in putting plans together as well as attracting financial support. During the mentoring process we often find ourselves permanently on call as community leaders are generally volunteers who start to wear their community hat at all sorts of late hours in any working day and it is important to be here for them when they most need us. Many of the meetings contain memorable events. In Strathpeffer, the trip organised by Community Energy Scotland (CES) was excellent. During that trip, we met a lady called Jennifer Macleod from the West End Hall who, despite immense pressure and, what appeared to be, a catalogue of disasters, was still smiling and continuing with the good work in revitalising the community hall and keeping a resource going for the community she lives in. She was well supported by the incredible Melanie Macrae, Development Officer with CES. Jennifer is a true example of a person whose cup is always half full and an inspiration to us all.

During the Faroe trip we had several meetings with various officials and the meeting with the members of the Faroese Government will remain in our memories for a long time. This meeting involved quite a lot of raised voices in Faroese. We did not understand what was being said but we have never seen such an emotive discussion taking place among senior Government officials anywhere else. This is apparently the accepted norm in the Faroes but it was an eye opener for us. At the end of the meeting everyone shook hands and had a cuppa as if not a voice had been raised earlier. Elizabeth attended the NPP event in Scotland and enjoyed it very much as she felt that people were actively looking for solutions, not problems, which is what we believe the NPP stands for. Let’s hope that there will be many more of these events as they encourage and enable people to share their knowledge; a strong part of the NPP programme. We have reached a critical time in the SMALLEST project. We have achieved several key milestones on all fronts, such as achieving political support, mentoring a number of communities, supporting financial applications, helping secure equity investment and helping with the understanding of technology. We feel that we have accomplished a lot but there is so much more that we are working towards. Our Shetland skills audit is planned for this year, the template for which we hope can be used in many other communities. Once this is in place, we will be able to identify the skills that are required and work with Inverness College to address the skills gap. This could involve finding a means to bring the courses to Shetland.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Inverness College, by contrast, is the urban and elegant face of the Highlands of Scotland. A graceful riverside City built in the shadows of the mountains, it is home to the people who bring order to the region. Peter Dennis brings calm authority to his work for SMALLEST in all he does.

Inverness College UHI

I started on the project after the opening meeting in Inverness, so missed out on the early chance to meet the team and walk through the rain in the city. My first trip was to the Faroe Islands, which had the most amazing geography. Steep slopes rise straight from the sea and into the clouds, up to who knows where. In Northern Ireland we encountered tremendous hospitality from the farmer who was showing us the renewable energy solutions he had installed, and welcomed more than 30 people into his living room for tea and scones. At Strathpeffer in Scotland we all had to become film stars as the project was creating an introductory video for SMALLEST. Our recent trip to Joensuu in Finland was the first trip with subzero temperatures, but we had been given advance warning so we were all wrapped up well. We had a wonderful meal in the magnificent timber building of the Forest Research Institute, where the architecture in the reception hall is designed to represent a forest of trees.

My border collie, Archie

Peter Dennis I represent Inverness College UHI with its involvement in the SMALLEST project. Last winter was particularly harsh here in Scotland so we are realising the need for economic and reliable energy supplies more than ever, and SMALLEST really can make a big difference. I live in Aviemore, south of Inverness and close to one of Scotland’s ski centres, so I thoroughly enjoyed all the snow. My border collie dog, Archie, is also fond of the snow but it came up to his armpits so walking became hard work for him.

NKUAS building

Acorns in the snow in Joensuu

hy of the The amazing geograp Faroe Islands

SMALLEST partners mounting the steps to the Strathpeffer Pavilion

A frozen statue in Joensuu

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 Action Renewables Terry Waugh I’m a farmer’s son and was born and brought up in the deep County Down countryside, so I feel that I understand many of the issues we are dealing with in SMALLEST quite well. I’ve been with my partner Andrew for 16 years and we have two small dogs Pippin and Molly. I’ve attached a photo of them under the Christmas tree just so that you can say ‘awwwww’…

Inverness College UHI has created the SEAM (Sustainable Energy And Micro-renewables) Centre as a training and information facility for micro-renewables. We have a large room where we can display and demonstrate a wide range of renewable energy technology. We have started running training courses for installers so that they can learn how to fit renewable energy equipment properly. We have also hosted a monthly series of seminars covering various renewable energy topics. These have been well attended and we’ve had good feedback from attendees, so we are looking to keep these going in 2011. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present a summary of all these activities at the Sustainable Energy Systems conference in Joensuu, Finland.

...and sporting his SMALLEST waterproofs in Joensuu

My two small dogs Pippin and Molly

The two meetings that stand out the most for me are the first one and the most recent one. When I attended the first meeting in Inverness with Leanne, I think we were both quite daunted by the size of the project and what we thought lay ahead. A year on we attended a partners meeting in Finland, in November, and all the partners seem to be making good progress. It is great to know everyone working on the project much better and to be able to see the environment that some of our partners have to work in. I was persuaded by some individuals to make a snow angel, proof in the attached photo.

Peter Dennis

Two similar organisations join SMALLEST from Northern Ireland. Action Renewables brings us the irrepressible Leanne Breen, and the saturnine Terry Waugh. The first one cannot help but find something to smile about in all she sees; the other finds something to worry about. Together, they balance one another out perfectly.

Terry making snow angels

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Speakers at the SMALLEST project launch in Northern Ireland

Leanne Breen My name is Leanne and I work for Northern Irish based company Action Renewables. As well as overseeing WP4 within the project, I was recently busy organising my wedding which took place in December 2010. It’s been so much fun meeting all the partners involved in the SMALLEST project and as well as sharing knowledge of their region and renewable energy, they’ve also been providing me with lots of useful (although sometimes rather unusual) marital advice.

Project partners from IRRI, the University of Ulster and Action Renewables

During October 2010 Action Renewables participated in an energy efficiency and renewable energy awareness raising event hosted by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in Newry. A number of local advisory services were invited to have stands at the event and we went along to promote the SMALLEST service in the area. Representatives from Action Renewables, the University of Ulster and IRRI also attended (and gave evidence at) a Northern Ireland Government enquiry into the opportunities for renewable energy in Northern Ireland on the 4th of November 2010. The event was recorded for BBC Democracy Live.

Leanne Breen

The moments that stand out most for me from our partners meetings are …my initial nervousness at meeting the partners for the first time at the Inverness meeting, which had completely disappeared by the time we’d finished dinner on the first night and I realised how nice everyone was; misunderstanding the time difference during the Klaksvik meeting and waking Nick up, only to be told that the meeting didn’t actually start for another hour; eating yummy homemade scones during a site visit in Limavady; meeting Peter’s lovely wife and dog during the Strathpeffer meeting; and having snowball fights and making snow angels on our lunch break during the Joensuu meeting.

Action Renewables identified a lack of advice and guidance for community groups interested in undertaking renewable energy projects in Northern Ireland. Through participating in the SMALLEST project we feel we are achieving our goal and helping to plug this gap in our region. We are currently liaising with a range of community groups across the country, helping provide them with the information on technologies, installers, funding and training they need to develop their projects further. As leaders of work package four, we have been overseeing pilot demonstrations and to date, partners are working with 24 potential pilots. We aim to work with a total of 54 pilots over the three years of the project so we feel we are well on our way to achieving this target and are keen to keep up the good work.

Action Renewables hosted a regional project launch in conjunction with the University of Ulster on the 28th May 2010 at the Ecos Centre in Ballymena. We invited representatives from government departments, local council members, local advisory services and community leaders to attend the event to gain a better understanding of the project and discuss how it could be of value to them.

A SMALLEST community site visit

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

The University of Ulster Business School, by contrast, adds academic weight and substance to the partnership. Derek Bond’s encyclopaedic knowledge requires an interpreter at all times. Luckily Elaine Ramsey can access the most obscure texts and articulate them for the mere mortals Derek meets when he descends from the heights of Olympus. Norry, meanwhile, works away at his own agenda.

University of Ulster, Business School

Derek Bond

All three lecturers only moved to academic life at a late stage in their careers. Derek used to be a civil servant but now is enjoying not being so civil. He is married with five children and a cat and lists collecting frequent flyer miles as his main hobby. Norry took early retirement from a successful business career and joined the university only to realise the business opportunities that it offered. He is now busier than when he was working. Likewise, Elaine moved from family retailing into lecturing and research. Elaine is married with two grown-up daughters and a dog.

University of Ulster; Business School Team

University of Ulster and Action Renewables Teams in Strathpeffer

The University of Ulster team consists of Derek Bond, Elaine Ramsey and Norry McBride, all lecturers in the Ulster Business School and Lynsey McKitterick and David Hanna, both full time researchers in the field of the management of renewable energy.

SMALLEST has brought many memories for the team. The highlight of the kick-off meeting in Inverness was the arrival of Norry soaked to the skin, despite all his high quality waterproofs, having ridden from the ferry port of Stranraer to Inverness on his Harley-Davidson to reduce his carbon footprint. The meeting in the Faroes was something else. Both Derek and Elaine despite being hardened travellers, found the experience something completely different. Both are keen to go back – though Derek would prefer to do any travelling at night so that he doesn’t have to see the vertigo inducing drops on many of the roads. The country house party atmosphere of the Limavady meeting provided a great boost to the post Christmas period. Because of the SNOW, Derek still hasn’t lived down his comment when first offering to host the meeting; that the weather would be just wet and miserable. Six months later, whilst most of the team were enjoying the golf in Strathpeffer, Derek was on the Caledonian sleeper trying to make it to the start of the meeting the next morning. He was rewarded by a run through the Highlands on a beautiful summer’s morning. The Joensuu meeting in November provided a fitting end to the initial phase of the SMALLEST project for the Ulster team. Again in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint Norry spent ten hours on trains looking at trees.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 On a more serious note, the Ulster team collated evidence from the SMALLEST partners in a response to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s consultation exercise on renewable energy. This also led to Derek and David together with Nick Lyth and Leanne Breen giving evidence to the Assembly’s Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Industry. This was a chance to get across the SMALLEST message directly to policy makers. Details of the evidence have been recorded in Hansard for future reference. As the SMALLEST project enters its middle phase, the Ulster team are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities (well we are a business school) offered by taking over the management of work package three. The issue of how we successfully engage with communities is fundamental to the successful outcome of the SMALLEST project and the Ulster team will be using its considerable expertise to address this issue.

The things which stand out most for me are the ghostly castle in Inverness, learning to appreciate whisky in Ulster, trying to find the name of the place I’m unable to spell correctly (Strathpeffer in Scotland), lying in a warm pool during a frosty morning in Güssing and perfect winter weather to offer to our guests in Joensuu.

Jarmo Renvall 52 years old I am married to a nurse and we have two daughters and one son My hobbies are driving a motorcycle and training/ teaching judo (since 1972)

Jarmo Renvall

From the Easternmost city in Europe, a short step away from the Russian border, the North Karelia University of Applied Sciences brings a very different form of gravitas to the partnership. On the one hand, the statuesque Helena provides the order and discipline of a former champion athlete, whilst the motor biking Jarmo processes it all through the romance of the road. They get there quickly and thoroughly.

North Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Centre for Natural Resources

My most memorable moments from the SMALLEST are the kick off meeting in Inverness, the in Scotland (especially in Strathpeffer), a city tour in Derry/Londonderry, the success and the conference here in Joensuu.

partners meetings magnificent nature very interesting story of Güssing

Helena PuhakkaTarvaine 28 years old Married to a policeman Lives in a wooden house nearby Lake Pyhäselkä Former Finnish junior shot-put champion

NORTH KARELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Loves reading, sports & travelling

Helena Puhakka-Tarvaine

Ville Kuittinen

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Participation in SMALLEST meetings:

Some of the NKUAS team have participated in all the official meetings arranged under the SMALLEST umbrella, including the exciting Güssing trip in September 2010. NKUAS has a large project team, so members participating in meetings have varied slightly. The largest group we had was in the joint MicrE & SMALLEST meeting in Limavady, where four NKUAS members attended.

Events arranged:

SMALLEST Snowmobile Crew in Swe

den

SMALLEST Press Conference in Joensuu, Finland

Sustainable Energy Systems 2010 - Conference 24-25 November 2010, Joensuu, Finland Arranged in equal cooperation with SMALLEST, MicrE and PELLETime projects 115 registered participants 2 members of the Secretariat and Finnish RCP 5 NPP projects present (SMALLEST, MicrE, PELLETime, RASLRES and Northern ToSIA) 24 guest speakers NPP Energy Cluster Workshop 3 official study tours (15 people involved) 75 participants in the official dinner at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) 2 press releases 1 radio interview A lot of positive feedback. North Karelia Climate and Energy Programme 2020 Participation in the C&I Programme steering group and 4 subgroups Municipality tour in North Karelia (14 municipalities contacted; altogether 6 seminars for decision-makers) Long-term follow-up tool for the Programme Sustainable Energy at the European North 8 December 2009 & 22 April 2010 2 seminars arranged for informing the NKUAS staff, students and other stakeholders about the ongoing NPP projects and the Northern Periphery Programme overall.

Events attended:

World Bioenergy 2010 Congress and Exhibition 24-28 May 2010, Jönköping, Sweden 1 oral presentation & proceedings

NPP Finnish Annual Seminar 16-17 September 2009, Vuokatti, Finland 8-9 December 2010, Joensuu, Finland SMALLEST project presentation in both events EU Open Days seminar “Bioenergy – one of opportunities of Eastern Finland” 30 October 2009, Kuopio, Finland National Environmental Research and Risk Assessment Days 16-17 November 2009, Kuopio, Finland Future Forum Organised by the Council of State 15 March 2010, Joensuu, Finland Eastern Finland Bioenergy Days 22-23 March 2010 Seminar for promoting biogas in Eastern Finland 24 March 2010, Kitee, Finland 25 August 2010, Maaninka, Finland Current status & future: NKUAS is the responsible partner for Work Package 5 and is thus concentrating mostly on Outreach and Policy Development. Our task is to identify the best practices and barriers in renewable energy dissemination and policy interventions. During the second half of the project, our role is more and more about up-scaling the project outcomes and the long term sustainability of the SMALLEST Service. Thus far we have gathered material for identifying the barriers and best practices through several questionnaires, case study interviews, tasks for partners and cooperation with other instances (like FP7 project RoK-FOR). We have also been strongly involved in creation of the climate and energy strategy for North Karelia region which will be implemented over the next decade. We have also undertaken some preliminary analysis from the data gathered and have published the conclusions in the World Bioenergy 2010 congress. More analysis and publications will follow during 2011. One of the NKUAS goals for 2011 is to concentrate more on the educational and advisory aspects of the SMALLEST project. Also, more communities will be approached and pilots carried out.

Reindeer in Sweden

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 Municipality of Norsjö As a whole, the SMALLEST project and the Northern Periphery Programme have helped NKUAS to widen our expertise in the field of renewable energy and positively influence regional development of renewable energy. The teaching staff can benefit from lessons learned in the projects whilst the projects can direct the resources to respond to the actual need of students and the people living in the region.

Norsjö Kommun’s SMALLEST team:

Eleonore Hedman I work for the Swedish partner – Norsjö Kommun, located in the northern part of Sweden. After 17 years in France, I moved back to my native village in Sweden and started to work with the SMALLEST project. This job is a great opportunity for me to feel that I actually contribute to something in my region – that’s nice. When I don’t work I spend my time with my 2 year old daughter and I also try to find time to restore my house, take care of my two horses and do some gardening. My second daughter, Saga, was born in January 2011.

Eleonore Hedman

Ken Swanson

The SMALLEST Team in Sweden

From Finland to Sweden and the rural Northern Municipality of Norsjö, where you would least expect to find a highrolling master of the IT universe. Yet here is Ken Swanson, informed, knowledgeable, and ahead of every game there is. He is accompanied by Eleonore, whose tranquil dignity has been disturbed by the arrival of a baby girl.

Ken Swanson

I work for the Swedish partner Norsjö Kommun in the SMALLEST project and other renewable energy projects. After retiring from the high tech industry, I moved to Sweden from the USA in 2005 to be close to my eight year old daughter. Retirement didn’t last long as I have been developing, leading and participating in resource projects across Europe. As our world is now in a period of rapid economic development and change, working with resource issues and sustainable development offers many interesting opportunities and challenges on a global level.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 Development Centre of East Iceland

Most notable event at the Limavaday meeting has to be the unpronounceable name of the location and Norry’s jokes. In Strathpeffer the HUGE trees that looked like they were 500 years old. In Güssing the more than nice breakfasts at the hotel, that Ewan never got the occasion to try as he preferred sleep… Luckily for him there were nice apples in the room too. In Joensuu the seats in the auditorium, a bit too austere for very pregnant women…

The Development Centre of East Iceland (DCEI) is a small 5 staff regional development agency located in the town of Egilsstadir. Living in such a small isolated rural area, the SMALLEST project has brought to us valuable international experience and knowledge through all the talented and enthusiastic people in the partnership. The atmosphere within the partnership has been relaxed and friendly with problem solving instead of problem making as a crucial element of our co-operation. My most memorable moments from our meetings have been the beautiful Scottish August summer weather (I let you guess how the weather was) at our kick-off meeting in Inverness, a long awaited opportunity to visit our good friends and neighbours in the Faroes, the walk around the former troublesome town of Londonderry in Northern Ireland and last but not least the memorable drive with Steve from IRRI from Glasgow to Strathpeffer and back.

Other events attended or arranged: We attended three seminars on biogas development in the four northern counties in Sweden, one regional cluster meeting for energy and climate projects and various conferences on renewable energy. We arranged a renewable energy event in our municipality as well as a large number of information meetings in rural communities in the county. Reflecting on our progress and current status, we have accomplished much since the beginning of the project. Contacts with the local, regional and national stakeholders have been established, information has been collected, village meetings have been held to raise interest and pilot test projects have been started. As we progress in our work, however, we realise how much there is to do and the positive impacts that larger development of local energy could have. We still have much more to do.

In Iceland, Enok Johannsson joins the team. He reveals the character of his country, an ice-cool calm in the face of the greatest pressure. As his country suffered the double blows of economic and natural disaster, Enok held firm and steady throughout. He will deliver what is required without complaint, without delay and without fuss.

Enok Johannsson

We at the DCEI have, beside those partner meetings, attended an Icelandic NPP meeting organised for project partners, several conferences on energy related matters and arranged regular informal meetings with community leaders and advisory services in East Iceland. We at the DCEI feel that the SMALLEST project has made significant progress in the last 6-8 months after a somewhat slow start. The partnership has been working better and better together as a group pushing the project further. In East Iceland we feel that advisory service, community leaders and inhabitants have begun to show much more interest in the SMALLEST project and what it can do for the communities. Much work is still to be done but we are confident that the SMALLEST project can be a significant contributor in raising public awareness and increasing the professional know-how with regards to renewable energy matters.

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011

Last but not least, on the edge of the World, the Municipality of Fuglafjørður in the Faroe Islands. Here the rocks stick out of the sea as if the volcanic thrust that propelled them towards the sky only happened yesterday. Life clings to the edges, ready to jump if the cliffs retreat back into the sea tomorrow.

Fuglafjørður Municipality

Eyðun Lauritsen is an enthusiastic entrepreneur within

renewable energy on the Faroes. Over many years he has shown that solar thermal systems work on the Faroes with numerous satisfied customers.

Vilhjálmur Nielsen is

Vilhjálmur Nielsen

an energy planner, working with legal and policy aspects of implementing energy technologies. He is also looking into economic issues, such as who should do the investments and where the funding is coming from.

It is always inspiring to be part of international projects. The reasoning for the projects is to work and learn from each other in order to reach common goals. But it really gets inspiring when you go to the places they call home. This is where you get to hear and begin to understand the circumstances under which they work. It adds an additional layer of information to what is said at the meetings and written in reports.

We had our start-up meeting in Inverness – the natural hub for anyone coming by train from the south towards the onceupon-a-time ferry line between Scrabster and the Faroes. An interesting place, where even the pub dinner was a culinary surprise. This was a good start for the partnership. The meeting in Faroes was our own meeting, where we combined the official opening of the Kambsdalur Renewable Energy Centre with NordSESIL-workshop and invited people from across the Faroes. These were people that had not previously participated in any energy workshops or meetings, and it made a real difference to them. Over a year later and participants still comment on the meeting and the inspiration it gave them. The tragic history of Northern Ireland became very visible when taking the walk around the city walls of Derry. Even when writing this it becomes clear that the use of words makes a difference, as there may or may not be an underlying meaning behind the words. Our Northern Irish partners in SMALLEST have many stories on how the troubles affects daily life in Northern Ireland – and also how it affects business development and investments – issues that are crucial for any development towards sustainable energy futures. A tour was held during the meeting in Strathpeffer where we were shown examples of renewable energy installations and what could be learned from them. The story on the biomass boiler that had to be fed manually with chips was illustrative – luckily an automatic system could be added on afterwards. Also the story on the floor heating system with wooden floor above it made us laugh and shake our heads, “Please don’t use nails to mount anything unless you know where the heating pipes are - and make sure not to go on holiday before you know there are no leaks”.... Surely there is a need for professionals to learn how to deal with renewable and technical installations because this is new to many of them. The large NPP Sustainable Energy Systems conference was held in Joensuu, a beautiful setting with snow and very short days at the NKUAS department. Engaging conversations were had with many of the partners, especially when discussing the interesting agenda for the meeting. The setting of the official dinner at the Finnish Forest Research Institute that is a natural showcase on wooden structures... with a hidden gem – the allwood meeting room where all the chairs were made of different wood species. There the Finnish innovation drive became visible.

Klaksvik, the Faroe Islands

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SMALLEST Annual Report 2010 - 2011 At the end of the year 2010 we can thus see that we have built a foundation for the SMALLEST service which can now be rolled out to the general public. In the coming year we expect to exploit the full demonstration value of our hydrogen system and implement further renewable energy technologies at Kambsdalur. We also look forward to contribute to and document other demonstration projects around Faroes.

Working Group, SMALLEST Partners Meeting in Joensuu, Finland

The meeting in Fuglafjørður was the starting point for a series of meetings and talks around the Faroes with different stakeholders on projects and processes. This also includes members of parliament and invitations for consultation in parliamentary committee on energy legislation. Energy groups have been established in Klaksvík and Fuglafjørður where procedures are about to be implemented so that energy is used more efficiently in the municipalities. The Kambsdalur Renewable Energy Centre is the starting point for delivering the SMALLEST service. This includes also challenging the legislation that currently makes it very difficult to erect grid connected small wind turbines. By seeking permits for two - and later a third wind turbine it became apparent that the current legislation needs to be changed in order to make it easier to get permission for small wind turbines with due respect to the surrounding environment and landscape. The 300 m2 solar thermal collectors at Kambsdalur serve the same purpose - to show that it is possible and let people ask what they can do. Public schools, high schools and international students are asking for information on renewable energy and supervision from the centre. The material they are producing is entered into a common pool of educational material.

Finally, the cause and subject of our story, the people who need help and support, the communities themselves. Who are they, these people for whom SMALLEST is fighting? They are not people who recognise or acknowledge weakness. They are never likely to admit that they need other people’s help. These are people who have lived on the edge of the world for generations and have already risen above the challenges and difficulties that other lesser mortals would find overwhelming. These are tough people, people who believe in themselves. They know that, when problems come, they rely on themselves first, and others come second. They are so used to living without outside help that it can sometimes be difficult to help them. Renewable energy offers them an opportunity. They are plentiful in the resource. These are communities for whom the wind blows harder and the tide runs faster than most other places. If they can harness the energy available their own use, they will save themselves more secure source of energy at the same cuts when the supply breaks down because off. The supply will be there.

on their doorstep for money, and provide a time. No more power the weather cuts them

If they can harness the energy available on their doorstep, they can do something even better for their community. They can generate enough energy for their own community and have something spare to sell to the power companies. They can turn their suppliers into their customers. Instead of paying their hard-earned money to outsiders far away for a commodity they cannot do without, they could be selling the commodity themselves and bringing money into the community as a consequence. The NPP and the SMALLEST partners will help them do it.

NORTH KARELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES