Käynnissä

Energy as a Service in Urban District Areas

Smarter District Energy Services for Low-Carbon Cities

Cities make long-term decisions and investments that impact energy consumption – and, consequently, carbon dioxide emissions. ENPA – Energy as a Service in Urban District Areas (Energiapalvelumalli alueille) project explores the procurement of low-carbon energy service solutions at the district and block level, using real pilot sites in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Within the project, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences together with the cities of Espoo, Helsinki, and Vantaa will develop a model for implementing district energy services in cooperation with companies. This will be achieved through co-creation and knowledge exchange. The operating model will help cities establish energy-efficient and low-emission areas.

ENPA is an EU co-funded project within the Helsinki+Espoo+Vantaa Innovations (HEVi) program and operates from November 2023 to the end of October 2026.

Project objectives

Developing district energy service models: We enhance the planning and implementation of district energy service models through collaboration with companies, including knowledge sharing, market dialogue, networking, and training.

Creating an operational model for cities: We develop a model for procuring district energy services using pilot areas.

Improving the district energy market: We promote the use of locally produced energy and energy recycling, creating new business opportunities.

District/Block = A district or block refers to a group of several adjacent buildings in the same or nearby properties.

Energy as a Service (EaaS) Model = A company provides energy as a service to a customer. The customer only pays for the energy bill, without incurring costs for initial investments, system operation, or maintenance.

Pilot Sites of the Project

The ENPA project develops its solutions by analyzing urban pilot sites: A map about the pilot sites of the ENPA project in Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa.

Helsinki: Sakarinmäki elementary school as well as Nallenrinne in Malminkenttä
Espoo: Centre of Leppävaara, Former Administrative Centre in Espoon keskus and Viiskorpi
Vantaa: Tikkurila Competence Campus.

Collaboration with companies is put into practice on the pilot sites. These pilots provide valuable insights into:

Which areas are suitable for the energy service model.
How to engage stakeholders in the model.
What contractual frameworks are needed for implementation.

Training Courses of the Project

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences has extensive expertise in the construction sector. Within the ENPA project, Metropolia will design and implement training courses tailored to energy service companies and their potential customers based on their needs and expectations.

The second training course was held on February 3, 2026 – read an article about it on HEVi's website (in Finnish).

The first training course took place on May 27, 2025, read about the results on HEVi’s website (in Finnish).

Interested? Get in touch!

(Emails: firstname.lastname(at)metropolia.fi)

Project Manager as well as Stakeholder and Event Manager
Jaana Numminen

Project Specialists
Harri Hahkala – Smart Buildings
Petri Koivula – Energy Efficient Housing, Learning Environments as well as Smart Buildings
Antti Tohka – Sustainable Buildings
Katariina Saarela – Communications Specialist