SIEMENS

If there’s one instantly recognizable sign of Copenhagen’s green credentials its the vast number of bicycles on its streets. A considerable number of the city’s 520,000 residents are avid bicyclists, even when clouds are low and the rain sets in. The city’s broad cycling lanes literally teem with bicycles, bikes with trailers, and even sporty-looking tricycles complete with transport box for carrying a child passenger or packages. “If you look at photographs from the 1930s, you see a very similar picture,” says Peter Elsman, deputy finance director of the city of Copenhagen. “Back then, not many people were able to afford a car; but today, having a bicycle is just part of the Copenhagen way of life. Almost 40 percent of the city’s population travels by bike every day to their place of work or study.”

The bicycles are a perfect symbol of Copenhagen, host of the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference, and of its current standing as Europe’s greenest city. This honor was conferred back in December, during the UN conference, when Siemens and the UK’s Economist Intelligence Unit presented the European Green City Index. Copenhagen’s top position is, of course, a result of more than bicycles. It was made possible by a package of measures that have placed the city just ahead of Stockholm, Sweden, in the green ranking.

What makes Copenhagen the leader of the pack? For starters, its district heating system is unique worldwide. The system is very efficient and provides heating for 98 percent of all households by means of a large combined heat-andpower (CHP) plant, rather than having each household produce its own heat. All in all, while eliminating the need for private heating systems, the city’s CHP plant is 90 percent efficient. Copenhagen started laying twin pipes for superheated steam as far back as 1925, initially to supply hospitals with steam to sterilize their operating instruments. Today, the city has 1,500 kilometers of twin pipes transporting superheated steam and hot water from the CHP plant to households and back again.

For many years, the plant, which also serves several communities in the surrounding area, was fired with coal. No longer. One of the cogeneration units is now fired with environmentallyfriendly wood pellets, and a second is scheduled to be converted to this fuel in the near future.

Committed to Wind Power. Aside from relying on its combined heat and power plant, Copenhagen also meets some of its electricity needs with wind energy, which today meets, on average, one-fifth of the country’s power requirements. The Middelgrunden offshore wind farm, located a few kilometers from the city, has been up and running for almost ten years now. The farm’s 20 wind turbines were manufactured by Bonus, today a subsidiary of Siemens Wind Power. Each turbine has a capacity of two megawatts at full load. Collectively, the farm can supply around 40,000 households.

Also nearby are the 48 turbines of the Lillgrund offshore wind farm, which was commissioned in 2008. The turbines are clearly visible from the Öresund Bridge, which spans the strait separating Denmark and Sweden. Lillgrund has a total capacity of 110 megawatts. Siemens installed not only the wind turbines but also an associated offshore transformer station, which rises above the waves like a huge drum. The transformer collects power from the turbines and feeds it into Sweden’s national grid, which is connected to Denmark’s. Copenhagen now has plans to build more wind farms, in the city and in the Baltic.

“We have no intention of resting on our laurels,” said Ritt Bjerregaard (top left) , Copenhagen’s mayor until the end of 2009, at the presentation of the European Green City Index . She went on to announce an ambitious goal: “We intend to turn Copenhagen into a CO₂-free city by the year 2025.”

In concrete terms, carbon dioxide-free means two things. First, reducing the current emissions level of 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year by 1.15 million metric tons by 2025 with measures that either have been already implemented or are scheduled. Secondly, offsetting the remaining CO₂ emissions by means of projects such as new wind farms and the planting of woodlands. As the improvements of recent years show, this ambitious target looks quite realistic. While CO₂ emissions in many other cities have increased, Copenhagen’s - already low to begin with - have been cut by 20 percent since 1990.

The package of measures adopted by Copenhagen also extends to transport. Buses on the city’s downtown routes, for example, are now electrically powered, which reduces exhaust fumes and noise levels in the narrow streets. The city also intends to fit its entire fleet of vehicles, 600 in all, with electric or hybrid drive systems. And all of Copenhagen’s publicly-owned real estate is to be brought up to the latest energy-efficiency standards.

Copenhagen’s approved plan of action for achieving carbon dioxide neutrality by 2025 includes construction of a new subway ring, which will connect the southern area of the city to the rail network by 2018. Already, almost everyone in the city lives within 350 meters of a public transport station. In addition, a former harbor area is to make way for a new district by the name of Nordhavn, with homes for 40,000 people. Housing is to be built according to high standards of energy efficiency, and the new development itself will provide a balanced mix of residential, office, and retail space. The result will be a compact neighborhood in which people will be able to make many of their trips on foot.

More LEDs and Fewer Cars. Lighting is an important part of every city’s carbon dioxide footprint. With this in mind, Siemens subsidiary Osram has equipped a refurbished commercial building in downtown Copenhagen with light emitting diodes (LEDs). The new lighting will not only trim electric bills, but provide an intimate atmosphere for cultural events planned for the location. A total of 144 LED lamps have been installed on the first floor. Together, the lamps consume 190 watts - only about half as much as conventional halogen spotlights. In the same part of town, lighting in one street is also provided by LED street lamps from Osram.

During the Climate Change Conference, lowenergy lighting projects could be found throughout the city, including a Christmas tree in front of City Hall (see article "Wind, Wood & Two Wheels"). The tree was illuminated by several hundred LEDs that were connected to exercise bikes. The faster people pedaled, the brighter the lights became. During her opening speech, Mayor Bjerregaard jokingly referred to it as “the world’s greenest Christmas tree.”

Copenhagen has plenty to do by 2025. It is essential, Bjerregaard explains, that city dwellers back environmental measures. “A lot of our CO₂ emissions are caused by the people of Copenhagen themselves. If we want to reach our target, city residents will have to change how they live. Publicity campaigns are one way to encourage this, but we also want to make sure the people are directly involved in the development of solutions.” With one-fifth of all CO₂ emissions caused by transport, the plan is to encourage even more residents to use their bikes. The city is thus looking to improve conditions for cyclists even further, with facilities such as covered bike paths and bike parks. In fact, as of last fall, there are even special warning lights set into downtown roads to alert truck drivers turning right to the presence of cyclists in their rearview blind spot. If a cyclist approaches a the blind spot, the lamps start to flash. In other words, cyclists are taken very seriously in Copenhagen - another good reason for switching to two wheels.