THISTED: Thisted Municipality won the KL Climate Prize 2026 at the Climate and Environment Summit in Aarhus on Friday.
The prize is given to a municipal climate initiative that particularly combines impact, local support and the possibility of being spread to other municipalities.
The prize recognizes Thisted Municipality for the Thy model. The model is a new approach to developing renewable energy projects, where the focus is on transparency, early citizen involvement and local support. Here, the municipality is working, among other things, on dividing areas into zones for energy plants, clear political guidelines and establishing energy associations, which give local communities a central voice in the projects.
- We are pleased that we have found a model for renewable energy projects to involve citizens at an early stage. We take local democracy seriously and take into account that the projects create local value creation. This is one of the criteria in the Thy model when we politically assess whether it is a good project, says Jens Tilma (K), Chairman of the Climate, Environment and Technology Committee in the municipality, when he accepted the award on Friday. He adds:
- Such recognition encourages me to continue working with the model and look at how we can do it even better and improve the process.
The KL climate award is awarded every year to highlight concrete municipal solutions to the climate crisis and create inspiration across municipalities.
Three finalists with their own approach
This year, three different climate initiatives were nominated for the award out of a field of 29 entries, ranging from technological solutions to new forms of citizen involvement and cooperation.
The winner was selected by a panel of judges consisting of representatives from both research, civil society and young climate actors. The panel includes, among others, a director from We Do Democracy, a center manager from the University of Copenhagen, a representative from Green Neighborhoods, a member of the Climate Council and a representative from the Youth Climate Council.
In addition to the winner, the municipality of Thisted, also participated in the competition for the award, including the municipality of Aarhus and the municipalities of Guldborgsund and Lolland with a joint effort.
Aarhus Municipality was nominated for its geothermal plant, where heat from the ground is used for district heating. By pumping hot water up from the ground and using the heat in the district heating network, the municipality can reduce the need for fossil energy sources. The cooled water is subsequently sent back underground, making the technology a renewable energy source.
- It is an important form of energy, but one that has not been successful for years. That's why we in the judging panel were very impressed, said Simon Kjær Hansen, center director of the Queen Mary Center, University of Copenhagen and part of the judging panel.
Finally, Guldborgsund and Lolland Municipalities were nominated for a joint initiative targeting agriculture. Here, farmers have been able to apply for grants to have climate accounts prepared, which provide an overview of CO2 emissions and concrete opportunities for reduction. The purpose is to strengthen agriculture's green transition through knowledge and financial support.
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
