15th of April, SINTEF Nord hosted a 3-hour webinar on emissions free construction sites in Northern Norway. Participants from public and private sector joined to discuss the potential for deploying electric machinery in construction projects.
The construction industry is a contributor to both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. By making the construction sites emissions free, Norway will be one step closer to achieving their climate goals.
Emissions free construction sites are relatively new for both public developers and the private business sector. However, public sector is sending strong signals that future building and construction sites in Norway will be emission free. Recently, seven municipalities in Norway have joined together and set ambitious climate goals: All municipal building and construction projects must be emissions free by 2025 – and from 2030 all building and construction activities in cities must be emissions free.
The city of Oslo was the first to have an emissions free construction site. At the webinar, one of the central questions discussed was what prerequisites are needed for success with emission free construction sites in Northern Norway? To shed light on this, we listened to regional actors along the entire value chain, that being municipalities, power grid suppliers, contractors and suppliers of equipment and heavy machinery.
What can be learned from Oslo? One of the things mentioned was the establishment of early and good dialogue between the involved parties. This is crucial both with regard to the procurement strategy and the contractor’s role in setting procurement criteria, but also with regard to planning and facilitation of, among other things, power supply at the sites themselves. Energy and power needs should be clarified early and optimized along the way. It was also emphasized that new solutions such as mobile batteries and flexible chargers should be considered.
There is no doubt that an emissions free construction site should be seen as a collaborative project that requires both early planning and optimization along the way. There is also a need to carry out pilot projects – to learn, to try new solutions, to document what works and how to achieve the best possible climate effect with the lowest possible costs. Pilot projects for emissions free construction sites should take place with a lower risk for the contractor and developer through the use of the available incentive tools.
This blog post was originally posted on the SINTEF blog.
Authors:
Randulf Høyli (SINTEF Nord),
Grethe Lilleng (SINTEF Nord) &
Kristin Fjellheim (SINTEF Community).