Campus shows the way in American energy transition
From left: Stefan Ellmin Sweden, Niall Pigeon Toronto, Mustafa ElBehry Minneapolis and Mark Spurr Minneapolis.
UThe USA’s national attitude to climate issues is often the subject of political disagreement, yet a considerable and highly focused amount of work is still being done at many university campuses all over the country. FVB recently took part in the Campus Energy Conference in Boston, USA, which attracted around 1600 delegates.
The conference was being held for the 38th time, with the theme of “Accelerating the Energy Transition”, which spotlighted the key role played by academic institutions in the transition to a more sustainable energy system.
“The conference showed how universities not only act as centres of learning, but also as test beds for the energy solutions of the future,” says Stefan Ellmin, Deputy CEO of FVB Sweden, who attended the conference.
“Many completed projects were presented, which made the conference not only a source of inspiration, but also an important platform for exchanging knowledge. Through technical sessions, roundtable discussions and open presentations, know-how was shared from actual transition projects – something that not only contributed to better awareness, but also to better collaboration between universities throughout the country,” he adds.
FVB, which has been active in North America since the 1980s, took part with several presentations, sharing experience from both North American and European projects.
“Our focus was on technical solutions and project management, and our presentations contributed to discussions on how complex transition projects can be conducted efficiently and sustainably. We found that FVB's long experience and international perspective was appreciated by many delegates, which also demonstrated the importance of proven methods coupled with innovation,” says Stefan Ellmin, who continued:
“The fact that progress is still being made despite federal obstruction only goes to show the strong local engagement. The universities are demonstrating in practice that energy transition is not only possible – it’s already in full swing.”
