A good start!
- Oct 19, 2016
- 2 min read
At the end of September, the E=0 project kick-started with a two-day meeting for partners This kick-off event offered plenty of time for the partners to get to know each other and begin work on the first challenges ahead.
Site visit
Our first stop after meeting each other at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands was Heerhugowaard, the small town where the first successful Net Zero Energy make-overs took place. During a site visit on the first day, all partners had the opportunity to see the renovated houses, ask questions about the project and meet with one of the tenants, who explained a bit about his experiences living in a Net Zero Energy house. After this site visit we boarded a bus to Amsterdam together for the rest of the two-day programme.
Content sessions
Back in Amsterdam the programme focussed on content and the challenges that lay ahead. The E=0 project focuses on making Net Zero Energy refurbishments possible by supporting the development of 11.200 houses in the UK, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This support consists of co-funding the Net Zero Energy make-overs, expanding the movement in general and supporting the development of better solutions over time. To ensure success, it is important to understand the full scope of the playing field and to work on all challenges at the same time. In several working sessions partners began working together to address the most important issues and formulate the first actions.
The following content sessions were organised over the two day period:
Work session: Demonstrators
Work session: Performance specs and guarantees
Work session: Tenant engagement
Work session: E=0 Refurbishments technologies and the North-West Europe construction sector organisation
Work session: Regulatory and planning environments for E=0 refurbishments
The afternoon of the second day was dedicated to understanding the 'rules' and project information as specified by Interreg, and of course everybody went home with the project poster and roll-up banner in their possession.
As we look back over these intense two days, we feel confident that the project is off to a good start.
