The ECOEMPOWER project - Strengthening energy communities

20 September 2023, Berlin: The ECOEMPOWER project celebrated its kick-off meeting in Trento, Italy. The ECOEMPOWER consortium met here for the official project kick-off with over 20 representatives of various project partners from six European countries.
European countries. The ECOEMPOWER project aims to support regional authorities in initiating and promoting energy communities.

Energy communities will be at the centre of the EU's Green Deal strategy. They have the potential to significantly and rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as half of all citizens in the European Union could produce their own electricity by 2050, covering 45% of the EU's energy needs (Delft, CE Delft, September 2016). Energy communities require stronger local action and citizen-led initiatives. The ECOEMPOWER project, funded by the EU Life Programme, aims to promote and support the establishment of local offices (One Stop Shops) for the creation and development of energy communities in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece and Italy.

Energy communities have gained increasing attention as they promote collective approaches to the energy transition by actively involving citizens and small businesses. Such communities come in many shapes and forms. They encompass different organisational models, legal forms, activities and technologies for renewable energy production, ranging from wind and solar energy to bioenergy and hydropower. They are involved in joint generation and supply, the shared use of energy, energy services, cooperative electromobility, the promotion of social and communal self-determination and much more.

The benefits of these collective energy initiatives include major environmental benefits, greater public acceptance of renewable energy installations, reduced energy poverty, greater social cohesion, energy autonomy, access to innovative financing models and the provision of decentralised flexibility to improve the resilience of energy networks. However, the model is new and widespread establishment of such communities requires capacity building and empowerment.

How will ECOEMPOWER promote the energy transition in the EU?

The ECOEMPOWER project aims to support regional authorities in initiating and promoting energy communities. It establishes One Stop Shops (OSS) as a physical and virtual centre where citizens and stakeholders have access to integrated services and digital tools for the creation of energy communities. The OSS raises awareness of the benefits of collective energy initiatives, helps to analyse the feasibility of projects, develop business models and build capacity. They also promote networking between energy communities, authorities and technology providers.

The regional one-stop-shops for energy communities are being developed and tested with the active participation of 5 regional authorities - in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece and Italy. Within these regional authorities, 15 pilots will be actively involved, each of which corresponds to a local energy community project according to the EU definitions of renewable or community energy communities (RECs/CECs). The pilots have been selected to represent different stages of energy community development and associated needs.

The interdisciplinary consortium of ten partners, which is coordinated by the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) via the Centre for Sustainable Energy, is fundamental to the project. In addition to the FBK, there are two other research centres such as the Università degli Studi di Trento (Italy) and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Energie Environnement (France); five public institutions / associations such as the Provincia Autonoma di Trento (Italy), Association Centrales Villageoises (France), Energie- & Umweltzentrum Allgäu (Germany), Pražské společenství obnovitelné energie (Czech Republic) and the PERIFEREIA STEREAS ELLADAS/Region of Central Greece (Greece) as well as renowned industrial partners such as B. A.U.M. Consult (Germany) and UBITECH Energy (Belgium).

What exactly will ECOEMPOWER achieve?

ECOEMPOWER will create services to support existing and future energy communities. The services will be trialled at the pilot sites where communities and their stakeholders will be actively involved and engaged.These experiences will then be analysed as a methodology and policy recommendations will be developed to support regional One Stop Shops and Energy Communities across Europe. Already in the first year of project activities, 100 replicators will be involved.Luigi Crema, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy at FBK, underlines the importance of the project: "Energy communities play a key role in decarbonising Europe and combating climate change. They have the difficult but important task of empowering local communities and enabling them to take a path that benefits individuals, communities and the environment".

ECOEMPOWER Project Kick-Off

On September 19th and 20th, the ECOEMPOWER consortium met for the official project kick-off in Trento, Italy. Over 20 representatives from ten project partners from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece and Italy came together for the first time. The project kick-off marked the official start of their ambitious endeavour. The first day was all about getting to know each other, agreeing on a common understanding of all aspects of the project, jointly creating the first elements of a project identity and gaining an insight into the individual work packages. The second day was dedicated to visiting energy communities and cooperatives in the region as well as some jointly operated renewable energy plants that will be part of the energy communities.

"With this kick-off meeting we have laid the foundation for the activities of the next three years and are now looking forward to a productive international co-operation of the European regions. With this project, we can make an effective contribution to the decarbonisation of Europe while working for the well-being of local territories and populations," says Diego Viesi of FBK, the coordinator of ECOEMPOWER.

ABout ECOEMPOWER

ECOEMPOWER - ECOsystems EMPOWERing at regional and local scale supporting energy communities - is a three-year project funded with more than EUR 1 million under the LIFE programme and the Clean Energy Transition sub-programme. This sub-programme continues to support the implementation of EU policies in the field of sustainable energy, in particular the European Green Deal, the Energy Union (2030 energy and climate targets) and the European Union's long-term 2050 decarbonisation strategy. The LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme aims to facilitate the transition to an energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy by funding coordination and support measures across Europe.The ECOEMPOWER consortium is an association of 10 partners from 6 European countries, forming a diverse team of complementary institutions, including 5 public institutions/associations, 3 research centres and 2 private companies. ECOEMPOWER was officially launched on 1 September 2023 under the coordination of the Fondazione Bruno Kessler and will run until 31 August 2026.

Contact to the project:
For further information, please contact the ECOEMPOWER project coordinator:
Diego Viesi, FBK
viesi@fbk.eu