Energy community Vangslia

The Vangslia energy community is investigating how a new holiday home area can be planned with energy-smart solutions, local energy production, shared energy distribution and professional organization of energy infrastructure. The pilot shows how energy can be assessed at the area level, and provides learning that may be relevant for other mountain and leisure destinations.

About the pilot

The pilot's starting point is that recreational home development must be planned with a holistic view of energy, land use and environmental impact. The goal is to develop Vangslia as a modern energy community where local energy solutions, smart distribution and robust ownership models are seen in context – from the early planning phase to operation.

The pilot is structured into four sub-projects:

  1. Area study for energy needs and network capacity

  2. Integrated energy solutions in buildings (solar, storage and microwind)

  3. Local distribution and solution choices for energy distribution

  4. Business concept for energy infrastructure ownership

Together, the sub-projects will provide a basis for decision-making that clarifies gaps between needs and capacity, points to technical and organizational possibilities, and reduces risk in further development.

Relevance for SOURCE

The Vangslia energy community addresses some of the most important questions in sustainable regional development: how to build with lower energy loads in areas with limited grid capacity, how to combine local energy sources in an efficient way, and how to organize ownership and operation so that the solutions are long-term and feasible.

The pilot is therefore relevant as a model for other mountain and recreational areas that need to connect energy, land and value creation more closely together in planning and implementation.

Ambitions

To develop a scalable energy concept for leisure and area development that:

  • provides better utilization of available network capacity

  • combines local energy sources and flexible distribution solutions

  • reduces risk and increases predictability for the developer, municipality and grid owner

  • establishes robust models for ownership, operation and financing of energy infrastructure

  • can be transferred to other similar development areas

The ambition is both to improve the project in Vangslia and to develop practices that can provide value beyond the pilot area.

The process

The work is designed as an interdisciplinary collaboration with contributions from, among others, Alpinco, Tensio, architectural/planning communities, technology suppliers and other complementary professional expertise. The process combines data collection, professional assessments, dialogue across stakeholders and specific recommendations for further planning and maturation. The progress is tentatively set from start-up in late 2025 and beyond spring 2026, with early delivery requirements related to the zoning plan work.

Result

The pilot must provide:

  • a comprehensive knowledge base for energy needs, capacity and measures in Vangslia

  • concrete recommendations for integrated energy solutions in buildings and areas

  • considered options for local energy distribution and interaction with surrounding consumers

  • proposals for business models for ownership and operation that reduce risk and strengthen feasibility

Overall, the results will make Vangslia a practical example of how mountain and recreational areas can be developed more energy-efficiently, flexibly and future-oriented – with clear benefits for other projects as well.

The project is a collaboration between:

SOURCE, TrønderEnergi, Oppdal Municipality, Alpinco & EnergiPartner.