Solar energy integration in Nordic smart cities

Sweden’s importance as a leader in clean urban energy cannot be understated. This is most evident in Malmö’s Hyllie, a green district on Malmö’s edge built around a fully integrated, low-carbon energy ecosystem.

Overview of Hyllie District, Malmö

Hyllie has become somewhat of a testbed for Malmö’s solar energy integration. Once an industrial fringe, it now runs entirely on renewable and recovered sources. Its electricity comes from rooftop solar and regional wind power, while heating and cooling draw on biogas and recovered heat from industrial processes, incinerators, and wastewater treatment facilities.

As Malmö’s flagship for building low-carbon, connected neighborhoods, Hyllie is designed to test and scale integrated solutions at the district level. By 2040, the community is expected to support over 25,000 residents and 9,000 workplaces, all linked to a shared energy network.

Integrated energy systems in Hyllie

Hyllie’s smart utility grid is a working prototype for next-generation urban energy setups. Here is more detail about what it includes:

• Renewable energy sources, all connected: The system feeds multiple renewable inputs into a single smart grid that prioritizes the cleanest source in real time. This integration allows it to shift between solar, biogas, and waste heat based on availability and demand.

• Smart energy management: The utility company E.ON manages Hyllie’s thermal energy flows using its ectocloud platform. Built on Azure, this AI-driven model uses millions of sensor readings, weather forecasts, and real-time consumption data to adjust energy distribution every 30 minutes.

• Flexible heating and cooling: The district’s ectogrid-powered heating and cooling network pairs with ectocloud to make the most of every kilowatt. Buildings equipped with heat pumps or chillers share excess heat or cold with each other. If one building generates more heat than it needs, that energy can flow into another that needs warming.

This integrated model has inspired similar projects across Europe. One example is the Silvertown redevelopment project in London, which will feature the UK’s first ectogrid-based low-carbon heating and cooling network.

Policy and planning initiatives

Hyllie’s success is a result of long-term planning and clear policy targets.

Climate contracts

Malmö has used climate contracts since 2008 to bring everyone involved in Hyllie’s development, from builders to energy providers, under the same set of sustainability goals.

These contracts require every company involved to meet strict environmental criteria. They have to run construction sites on renewable energy, use low-emission vehicles, and reuse materials to reduce construction waste. All buildings are funded commercially, but the city sets strict sustainability requirements and monitors progress throughout construction.

In 2015, the Swedish Energy Agency backed the Hyllie project with SEK 47 million (around USD $5 million), directly funding its renewable energy infrastructure and reinforcing national commitment to the district’s goals.

Renewable energy targets

Hyllie’s integrated system fits into Malmö’s broader low-carbon transition. The city aims to be 100% renewable by 2030, and it’s quickly getting there.

At least 43% of Malmö’s energy mix now comes from renewable sources. Public buildings and municipal facilities have been climate neutral since 2020, and earlier projects like Västra Hamnen have operated entirely on renewables since 2012. Augustenborg, a nearby industrial area, uses 450 square meters of solar thermal panels to help heat buildings through the city’s central heating system.

Malmö is also actively targeting two sectors that still rely on fossil energy: transport and district heating. While the district’s heating network (built in the 1950s) is efficient, it still uses a mix of biomass and fossil fuels. To shift away from that, Malmö processes waste from across southern Sweden through its SYSAV facility, converting it into electricity and heat for the city.

Technological innovations and Integrated infrastructure

More than being a Nordic model for sustainable urban development, Hyllie is also a pilot site for advanced energy systems that cut emissions and scale renewables in real conditions.

New metering and automation systems also stabilize voltage and manage load fluctuations to maintain power quality as more solar power feeds into the network. This level of integration puts Hyllie on track to soon meet nearly 40% of its buildings’ electricity needs through solar alone.

Photovoltaic installations

Malmö is also one of the top-performing cities in Sweden when it comes to PV installations. Its Bo01 neighborhood already meets all building energy needs using a mix of local wind and solar, including a 2 MW wind turbine and 120 m² of photovoltaic panels.

As mentioned above, Hyllie takes solar integration further by combining rooftop installations with real-time energy management. PV panels built into rooftops across private and public buildings produce electricity that feeds directly into a smart grid designed to manage demand across utilities and transport networks. Instead of sending excess supply back into the national grid, Hyllie’s system redistributes it to charge vehicles and power nearby buildings. Any surplus is stored for later use.

Some of the PV deployments in Hyllie are so well-executed that they’re winning awards. A green rooftop on a mobility building in Solkvarteret was named the best solar installation in southern Sweden in 2022.

Lessons learned and future outlook

Cities looking to cut emissions and upgrade their utility networks can take a page from Hyllie’s book. The district shows what it takes to make clean energy work at the neighborhood scale:

• Coordinate across sectors: Clean energy integration works best when city planners, utilities, developers, and residents work together. In Hyllie, long-term collaboration under climate contracts helped connect infrastructure decisions with policy goals and day-to-day use.

• Use technology to control supply in real time: Smart grids and AI-based platforms make it easier to manage demand and reduce waste.

• Plan for expansion: Hyllie’s system is modular enough to scale. It can support a growing population without adding strain to the grid and is replicable in other urban centers with similar energy demands.

Hyllie demonstrates how integrated energy systems can support dense urban populations. Its approach, combining solar energy, digital management tools, and coordinated policy, shows what’s possible when cities embed clean energy into urban planning.