Just around the corner from the newly painted façades, only one building has remained untouched. Initially, some citizens rejected the refurbishments, and strongly fought the project. However, when the works started in the summer of 2016, and the benefits became clear, many resisters changed their minds, petitioning the mayor to include them. But the EU subsidies had already been allocated to those residents who had been part of the project from its inception.
José Luis Casaseca Salas, president of the local landlords’ association, was the guide during the visit. He told that, at the beginning of the project, citizens were sceptical and couldn’t believe that the EU and the Valladolid municipality, were ready to cover 70 per cent of the renovation costs. So José took the lead and organised several community meetings to discuss the initiative: “I wanted the area to look modern,” he said. He observed that the original pipes in the buildings were losing heat, and “losing heat means losing money”. But it took him almost two years to get on board all the 1,180 residents from 398 individual dwellings.
"The main interventions included the installation of an external envelope on the building and an exterior thermal insulation cladding system on the façades and roofs with 60 mm panels" explained experts from Veolia and Acciona Construcción, Spanish companies carrying out the renovations.
The installation of a new 850 kW biomass boiler and the replacement of the heating network has reduced the district’s energy consumption by 45 per cent according to the Municipality.
José and some of his neighbours said that, before the project, each flat possessed its own hot-water boiler paid for separately. Now, to reduce energy costs, the provision has been centralised with a connection to the central heating network through external pipes. New thermostats have been installed on radiators in each flat and energy consumption is monitored through a digital platform.
The tower was the most impressive part of the visit. The south façade has been covered with 458 m2 of photovoltaic panels providing energy for the building and the 56 families living in it. Adding LED lighting in communal areas was part of the refurbishment.
Each family had to pay €2,939 towards the renovation of the FASA district. But officials from the Valladolid Municipality and the local guide José said that this amount will be mitigated by lower energy bills. Savings in energy consumption will therefore end up paying for the renovations.
The city can be toured on a silent electric bus which needed only 20 minutes for a battery recharge. Valladolid's public transport company, AUVASA, now includes five electric buses, two of which were bought by the project REMOURBAN for €400,000. The European Commission covered 40 per cent of this cost.
Officials from the Municipality explained that the buses have a hybrid-series arrangement, with a generator based on a Euro 6 diesel combustion engine and an on-board electric power accumulation system which delivers high-efficiency energy and low emissions. All buses are provided with USB sockets to recharge mobile phones.
In the past few years, Valladolid has led the way towards smart sustainable mobility. Measures include tax incentives for businesses that use electric vehicles, free parking and special access in the historic city centre for the so-called VELID (limited-size electric vehicle). The fleet has about 50 electric vehicles including buses, taxis, electric cars and motorcycles belonging both to citizens and private companies (e.g. hotels, shopping centres). Some of the citizens explained that they even set up a WhatsApp group to discuss the best charging points in the city!
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 646511.