EMPOWER 2.0

Middelfart Municipality wins Climate Prize

26 March 2022 - Published by Dominique Dhondt
The Municipalities' Climate Prize has just been awarded for the first time at the Municipal Policy Summit. It was Middelfart Municipality who - in a strong field of nominees - won the award.

On Friday morning, the excitement was unleashed on the stage for the Municipal Policy Summit, which is currently taking place in Aalborg. It was Middelfart Municipality's green energy communities that won the very first award of the Municipalities' Climate Prize.

An award KL has established to give the many green initiatives in the municipalities the attention and recognition they deserve. Middelfart Municipality won the award for actively developing local energy communities run by the citizens themselves. Among the examples is "Sol-Over-Brenderup", which is a solar park invented, initiated, run and owned by the citizens of the small town of Brenderup. And in the village of Føns, the citizens have energy renovated and established their very own local heating system based on geothermal heat and residual wood.

“It is often not easy to build, for example, solar cells and wind turbines without meeting resistance from those who have to live close by. Therefore, it is also very impressive to see how Middelfart Municipality has broken the code to get the local citizens involved in establishing local green energy sources ", says chairman of KL's Environment and Supply Committee, Birgit S. Hansen. She continues: “The municipalities have taken on the climate leadership. Middelfart Municipality certainly has, and they have collaborated with the citizens in a completely new way. I have no doubt that many citizens can be inspired by their efforts, and therefore it is also a great pleasure to present the award to Middelfart Municipality today. At the same time, I must say that many other good initiatives have been nominated, and this only confirms to me that the municipalities have really set the pace in climate initiatives in recent years. ”

The three other nominated initiatives for the Municipalities' Climate Prize were the Nørreådal project in Viborg Municipality, the laboratory for sustainable housing in Køge and the Rathlousdal dam in Odder Municipality. A total of 64 initiatives had been nominated for the award. Find them on the Municipalities' climate map. The Climate Prize comes with a trophy created by visual artist, Kigge Hvid.

KL - Local Government Denmark (KL) is the association and interest organisation of the 98 Danish municipalities. Below you can read about our organization, the municipal responsibilities, our EU relations, and more.

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