What is the policy, vision, or objective of the town? Please specify the actual goal and its metrics, if applicable.
Skolkovo is more than a science or technology park: it is a full-fledged city, though it is a special city in which creativity is the rule rather than an exception; a prototype for the city of the future. The Innovation Centre plans to ensure optimal conditions for research and business as well as create a rich and aesthetically appealing urban environment that is equally convenient for both guests and residents. The city’s main backbone elements will be the University and the Technopark. Alongside them will be a Congress Centre, various office and laboratory buildings, apartment buildings, fitness centres and stores. Particular attention will be paid to parks and other public spaces. The layout of the Innovation Centre calls for housing to be built in close proximity to workplaces. Rail transport and well-planned road junctions will provide quick access – ranging from 30-40 minutes – to Moscow’s historical centre. The roughly 400-hectare territory in the Moscow Region’s Odintsovo District will house approximately 20,000 people, while the total number of employees will amount to 30,000 people taking into account commuters from Moscow and the surrounding region. The first facilities were built at the Innovation Centre in 2012, while the main construction program will be completed in 2017.
Skolkovo is an energy efficient city with minimal or zero emissions of environmentally harmful substances that ensures the total recycling of household and municipal waste. At least 50% of the energy consumed by the city will come from renewable sources. The well-developed water system uses significantly less water by Russian standards without compromising comfort or hygiene. The transport system prioritises walking and cycling. The use of vehicles with internal combustion engines is prohibited in the city. Energy passive and active buildings that do not require energy from the outside and even produce more energy than they consume will be built at Skolkovo. Household and municipal waste will be disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way possible – the use of plasma incinerator technology.
Other Demand Side Measures
Energy-efficient construction technology and related trends in global development are actively applied on the territory of the innovation city. Buildings will consume an average of 30% less electricity and heating through effective insulation, heat recycling, and other innovative solutions.
Heating will be supplied through a city-wide system. Some energy will be produced locally through the use of rooftop solar panels. Installation of 5,300 square metres of rooftop solar panels is planned, which will provide up to 7% of the city’s required thermal energy for use in water heating systems.
A centralized cooling system has been designed for air conditioning in the majority of the innovation center’s offices and industrial buildings. The system consists of four cooling centers located in each of the city’s districts. Coolant will be supplied to consumers through a buried pipe. The district cooling centers will use effective technology to utilize waste heat from the water heating system, as well as cold accumulators to accommodate peak consumption.
Other Supply Side Measures
The main component of the Skolkovo innovation center’s electrical system will be two underground transformer substations, “Smirnovo” and “Skolkovo,” each with a capacity of 63 MVA. This is the first project in Russia to implement underground placement of electrical substations on such a large scale. Electrical power will be carried underground, through buried cables. An underground municipal electrical system will allow efficient use of the territory of the innovation center for the construction of buildings serving a variety of purposes. An internal electrical grid will be built using the technology and principles of Smart Grid, which will optimally redistribute the load on the electrical grid, thereby increasing the system’s efficiency and reliability. All of the elements of Skolkovo’s electrical system will be managed automatically by a single control center.