More and more people are moving to urban areas. Their day-to-day needs, such as public transport, residential construction or food production, demand energy – a lot of energy. The 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association, based in Zurich, seeks to counter this development and thus to help make international metropolises not only greener, but even carbon-neutral. But how? To do this, the Association has defined five principles:
- Smart nodes: Spatial planning concepts will incorporate “nodes” in various locations that can carry out their own specific roles.
- Smart grid: An intelligent grid linking up the nodes will ensure communicative networking of energy producers, storage systems, distribution grids and consumers.
- Smart tech centers: The distribution business will be adapted based on innovations. Production and the population are evenly distributed, reducing necessary distances.
- Smart energy production: It’s not only in buildings that energy standards are being set. Electricity production will also be bolstered by local green power, while waste will be disposed of sustainably and converted into energy.
- Smart food production: Expansion of urban farming and waste reduction.
Pilot project in India
The Indian town of Amaravati in the southeast of the country is to be the first carbon-neutral zone. In February 2019, the 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of the regional governor Chandrababu Naidu.
In order to execute this project and to turn other urban areas into green cities as well, the 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association is looking for Swiss cleantech companies that support the concept. Interested companies will be considered as potential “preferred suppliers” for the planning and execution of building work.
You can find further information on the 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association online.
