Progress in Karlshamn, Sweden

Energikontor Syd brought together 17 participants for the first meeting in Karlshamn, marking the formal start of the process to develop a municipal energy plan. The meeting featured engaging discussions and valuable knowledge sharing about the local energy system. As part of the programme, Pierre Ståhl, Roger Gunnarsson, and Anna Månsson visited Karlshamn Municipality to initiate the planning process and provide insights into the municipality’s current energy landscape and future opportunities.

Based on the productive discussions, Energikontor Syd decided to establish a smaller, dedicated working group to continue the development of the energy plan in a more focused and efficient way. This group will be responsible for driving the process forward and ensuring continuity in the work.

The first meeting marked an important milestone for Karlshamn’s energy planning efforts. The newly formed working group met again in November to begin its concrete work on the energy plan. A key theme of the discussions was how the energy plan should align with existing strategic documents and policy frameworks at both municipal and regional levels. Establishing clear ownership and strong collaboration from the outset was identified as essential to ensuring that the energy plan becomes more than a policy document, evolving instead into a practical and actionable roadmap for the local energy transition.

During the meeting, the working group began developing the section describing the current state of Karlshamn’s energy system and defining the most relevant content for the plan. This work is based on the Swedish Energy Agency’s new template, which provides a structured and forward-looking framework. In addition to the technical discussions, participants also had the opportunity to strengthen their collaboration through an active pause activity, which included tasting buckthorn juice, a small but appreciated moment that helped build group cohesion.