Abstract
The effects of a changing climate in the Arctic are already evident. In the years and decades to come, we will see more extreme weather events put stress on critical infrastructure such as energy and transportation systems. While we continue working on mitigating climate change, communities also need adapt to a changing environment. In addition, an increasingly uncertain geopolitical situation accentuates the importance of total societal preparedness.
The Northern Homes project deals with energy refurbishment of the thousands of post-war houses in Northern Norway. These houses, known as “reconstruction houses”, were built in a government-led campaign to rebuild Northern Norway, which was largely burned down during the last phase of the Second World War. In particular, the focus of the project is on how solar photovoltaic (PV) roofs can contribute to sustainable upgrading of the built environment in the north.
An overarching idea behind the project has been to investigate whether local renewable energy systems will lead to more awareness regarding energy use and energy security. For example, whether having a solar cell system on one’s own roof leads to more resource-aware energy use patterns. Our hypothesis is that distributed energy systems may yield a greater sense of ownership of the green transition among individuals and communities who own them.
While climate adaptation on a larger scale requires larger scale measures, such as natural hazard warning systems, strengthening of power grid infrastructure, and upgrading of roads, our project investigates the role of individual homeowners and neighbourhoods in building resilient communities.
Local resilience also requires local knowledge of the systems and how to maintain and repair them. During September 2025, the Northern Homes project contributed to the installation of a solar roof on a private home in Finnsnes, Troms County—the project’s “pilot house”. The installation was set up as a hands-on learning experience for local building companies, with the ambition of building up the local competence and knowledge. This is important not only to enable more installations, but also to ensure that the maintenance and repair capabilities are available locally.
In this contribution, we will present impressions and lessons learned from involving a local community and businesses in the work with strengthening the energy resilience of arctic communities.