From 21st to 25th October, 2019, selected representatives of the project beneficiary cities of Krusevac and Uzice, municipalities of Paracin and Vrbas, Ministry of Mining and Energy, SECO and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities as well as national European Energy Award (EEA) advisors participated in a Study Tour to Switzerland. This tour has been organized to enable firsthand experiences with best practices of Swiss EEA cities and their experiences with the European Energy Award.
20 participants had the chance to visit the diverse Swiss EEA cities of Basel, Biel, Lucerne, and Zurich. During the five-day Study Tour, Serbian representatives also had a chance to learn about the lake energy projects of Lucerne for heating and cooling with lake water, about the energy network with the use of waste heat and renewable heat from groundwater in Zurich, and other relevant energy topics. Through these various field visits and presentations, they gained an insight into how visited Swiss cities perform energy management and how the European Energy Award supports them on their pathway.
Special attention was given to ensure that the all-inclusive scope of the EEA will be mirrored by the selected diverse program points that included energy-efficient buildings, innovative heating solutions, urban mobility, spatial energy planning, energy supply, disposal and renaturation activities.
Serbian representatives showed great interest in presented concepts and projects that are being implemented in Switzerland and established good relations with Swiss hosts that will be relevant for future efforts of Serbian municipalities on their efforts to achieve progress with the EEA.