Kladno, a town of about 69,000 people, is located in the Central Bohemian region of Czechia. Historically a heavy industrial centre, the city has in recent years become a leader in Smart City and climate neutrality initiatives with a focus on the digitalisation of public administration and local government.
The city is committed to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with actions to accomplish this goal laid out in their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan Kladno (SECAP). The baseline for this commitment is the city’s 2019 inventory, which measured emissions totalling 491,599 tCO2e. The city is a partner in multiple EU-funded sustainable energy research projects, GLocalFlex and SPARCS, in addition to a variety of its own projects and plans around topics including sustainable mobility, energy and smart monitoring.
Piloting energy initiatives in the historic stadium
Connected to many of these projects and initiatives is the ongoing work to renovate Kladno’s Zimnà Stadion or Winter Stadium, situated on the outskirts of the city. The stadium first opened in 1949 and is one of the oldest facilities of its kind in Czechia, even hosting part of the World Ice Hockey Championships in 1959. Recent retrofits have improved the old stadium’s energy efficiency, to use it as a demonstration site for a number of smart and green energy innovations.
The retrofits present several immediate benefits for Kladno. Energy efficiency has been enhanced through a heat pump that uses the waste heat from cooling the ice to heat the stadium, as well as by automating control of the cooling plant. Relocating the cooling plant from beneath the auditorium to a separate building outside the hall also improves safety by reducing the risk of exposure to toxic ammonia. Energy consumption was 1799 MWh in 2021 before the renovation and after completion has reached the current and more constant consumption of 1319 MWh (2023) and 1320 MWh (2024). These upgrades extend the service life of the plant by 20 to 30 years, ensuring the continued availability of the facility for sports activities for the residents of Kladno.
The significant flexible energy assets built and planned for the Winter Stadium make it a core component of Kladno’s participation in EU funded research and innovation projects, GLocalFlex, focused on flexible local energy systems and SPARCS, focused on demonstrating solutions for the design of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). Enabling this kind of usage is the newly installed Energy Management System (EMS), which controls the assets 24/7.
It is the city’s ambition to integrate the innovative technologies located at the stadium, including heat pumps, rooftop solar and battery storage, with the entire Sletiště district’s energy system where it is located. This would enable 100% of the waste heat and energy generated to be used, also by nearby residential or tertiary buildings within the district.
Key drivers
- Political: As an industrial city, Kladno was seen as less developed than cities with more diverse, knowledge-based economies and there was political will to change this image through several smart city initiatives and through the creation of the city’s SECAP, which lists the Positive Energy District as a key measure. The city’s participation in H2020 projects around PEDs ensured broader buy-in among city officials.
- Economic: The total cost of the winter stadium retrofits thus far was approximately CZK 128.6 million. The financing was made up of around CZK 58.1 million in own funds, with the remaining CZK 58.5 million covered by a subsidy and partly by a favourable loan facilitated through the State Fund for Environmental Protection.
- Social: The municipality hosted stakeholder workshops to showcase Kladno's "smart" systems, digitalisation possibilities, open data use, trends, financing, and partner experiences. Discussions covered camera systems, sensors, smart metering, inspiring innovation, and evaluating smart projects, including abandoning unproductive ones. The debate also addressed legislative challenges, state administration, strategy creation, and more.
- Technical: Expert assessment of local potentials of on-site RES renewable energy production was carried out, resulting in the following technologies being suggested for the site: ground-to-water heat pump, solar water heating plant, low-temperature local heating network, waste heat capture and use, and photovoltaic panels.
Key barriers
- Economic: Limited or unreliable financial incentives posed challenges to securing long-term investments.
- Political: Sustained local political commitment and long-term support were fragmented or insufficient, affecting project momentum.
- Social: Non-energy-related issues often took precedence, diverting attention and resources from energy-focused initiatives.
- Technical: Key to meeting the energy savings potential of the site are the stadium’s flexible energy assets, but further research is needed to realise this potential. Based on initial assessments, only a small portion of the load of the largest flexible asset, the refrigeration system, can be considered flexible due to the strict temperature requirements for the ice rink.
For a comprehensive mapping of drivers and barriers for Kladno’s Positive Energy District, see https://pedeu.net/map/.
Potential for replication
The following conditions lead to strong potential for replication:
- Detailed feasibility studies and strategic documents, such as the PED feasibility study and SECAP, provide a strong foundation for implementation.
- Local governance structures, including a dedicated Grants and Project Preparation Department and collaboration with entities like the local University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings, streamline decision-making and execution.
- Alignment with national and European Union directives, such as energy performance standards for buildings, ensures regulatory support for such projects.
- The replication process developed under the SPARCS project involves structured steps such as project scoping, market consultation, and investment security, offering a transferable framework to other cities.
Lessons Learnt
The activities around the Winter Stadium provided key lessons on the importance of integrating renewable energy technologies with existing infrastructure to achieve sustainability goals. Leveraging innovative solutions like the EMS demonstrated the potential for public buildings to serve as models of energy efficiency and resilience. Engaging stakeholders early and ensuring alignment with technical, regulatory, and financial frameworks were critical for success. Additionally, balancing energy production with consumption through optimised system design highlighted the importance of scalability and adaptability in addressing urban energy challenges. These efforts reinforced the value of public buildings as catalysts for decarbonisation and community-wide energy transitions.
Crédits:
Créé à partir d’une image de : arska n - "Crane operator sitting in his cabin in the construction site"