North Sweden Energy Agency

North Sweden Energy Agency (Energikontor Norr) began in 1997, under the name Nenet, within the framework of the EU’s SAVE program. The business was reorganised in 2000 into a non-profit limited company with municipalities in Norrbotten acting as shareholders in the company.  

Energikontor Norr is an independent expertise resource and a regional cooperation institution without profit interest. Its mission is to increase the share of renewable energy and to get companies and public organisations to save energy and natural resources. The agency’s function is to contribute to sustainable development in Northern Sweden. 

Mission  

An important motive force of Energikontor Norr is to promote sustainable industrial development. Many of its projects are aimed directly at businesses, where it help them review and streamline their own energy use. The result is a stronger economy and a greener and more environmentally profile! 

The agency is also working to support its municipalities in Norrbotten by, for example, helping them with their strategic energy and climate work. 

The staff of the agency is a team with diverse backgrounds and skills. For the most part, they work through various projects and missions, where they interact with other players. 

In more detail, the objectives of Energikontor Norr can be described as follows:  

• Acting on energy and climate issues at the local and regional level, from an international perspective; 

• Working towards a higher proportion of renewable energy in the region; 

• Promoting a more efficient use of energy and natural resources; 

• Contributing to cooperation in the energy and climate area. 

Activities 

To achieve its mission, Energikontor Norr engages in activities and operations such as the following:  

• Initiate, coordinate and manage projects – from the regional level up to the EU level; 

• Conducting work in intelligence and analysis; 

• Working on orders from our owners as well as the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten); 

• Initiate, coordinate and operate various networks to gather expertise and create exchanges between actors. 

Structure  

Energikontor Norr is owned by the 14 municipalities in Norrbotten, together with Norrbotten County Council. Since December 2009, the Norrbotten County Council, as co-owners, holds half of the share capital. At the same time, a new board of directors with expertise in areas such as energy, industry, politics, research and development, gender equality, and social development was elected. 

The agency is part of a network of about 400 local and regional energy agencies in the EU. Its headquarters are in the centre of Luleå, and its project office is in Umeå.  

Network 

There are currently 15 energy agencies in Sweden, and together they cover the whole country. This network of agencies comes together and interacts through the association Energy Agencies of Sweden (Energikontoren Sverige). In Europe, there are 350 energy agencies, and many of these are, just like Energikontor Norr, members of FEDARENE.