Author: Anisja Obermann

First Partner Agreement signed

The first Community Energy Partner Agreement has been signed between Sweden (Energy Agency of Southeast Sweden) and Estonia (Tartu Regional Energy Agency TREA).

The following agreements are in preparation:

  • Germany (Heinrich-Böll Foundation Schleswig-Holstein) and Latvia (Riga Planning Region and City of Marupe), status: signing in preparation
  • Estonia (Tartu Regional Energy Agency TREA) and Finland (Green Net Finland, Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, Thermopolis Ltd – Energy Agency of South Ostrobothnia), status: signing in preparation
  • Finland (Region of Helsinki-Uusimaa) and Denmark (Middelfart municipality), status: Partner Agreement in preparation

Final Online Conference on September 8, 2020

More than 70 participants from all over Europe attended our Final Online Conference on September 8, 2020, representing scientific institutes, energy agencies, citizen’s organisations, municipalities, and ministries. We highly value the trust among the partners, the good cooperation and great outputs.

Initially planned as a meeting in Jurmala, Latvia, we turned this meeting into an online conference, using the chance of thereby reaching a wider audience – with success.

The conference was finalised by a discussion about the role of community energy in the European Green Deal. Addressing this concern is still in progress.

Publication of Roadmap

We elaborated a Roadmap on how to increase community energy using the RENCOP model. This Roadmap filters down and combines the findings of our project into an informative and detailed report. Transnational cooperation highlights the importance of community energy (CE) as a core pillar of the Green Deal in the Baltic Sea Region. Therefore, the consortium of our project has established an organisational model called RENCOP, where the impact of citizen engagement in renewable energy production and consumption is clearly outlined. In essence, it will guide and encourage organisations to stimulate a higher production of renewable energies through energy-cooperative models and approaches, by setting up structures such as a RENCOP.

Furthermore, the Roadmap illustrates a participatory mobilisation process, with general and country-specific steps, in order to develop CE in regions and municipalities across the BSR and beyond: “The RENCOP model” addresses local and regional actors such as municipal climate managers, energy agencies and other BSR/EU-wide actors interested in promoting RE and CE.

Publication of White Paper

We have published a White Paper which contains policy recommendations for national-level policy makers in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) to stimulate, support and promote community energy (CE) projects. Recommendations have been prepared during implementation and as one of the main outputs of the our project. The first part of the document provides a brief and clear overview of the definition of community energy. The second part focuses mainly on the existing policy framework for community energy and lists the main barriers and drivers that are currently affecting the development of community energy in the BSR. The final chapter provides policy recommendations to alleviate existing barriers and to make the policy framework more favourable to community energy projects. These suggestions have been developed over the course of almost three years during the our project.

New policy recommendations available

New policy recommendations help countries in the Baltic Sea region seize the potential of community energy

Community energy can empower people and enable the low-carbon transition. A new set of recommendations released today can help policy makers in the Baltic Sea region unleash the potential of community energy.

Community energy has many advantages. First, it provides jobs and economic opportunities to the local community. Second, projects rooted in the local community are more likely to gain acceptance, enabling the investments needed to tackle the climate crisis. Third, it can strengthen social ties – especially in communities that feel left behind.

Despite the great potential, community energy is held back by various barriers. For example, most countries lack a clear vision and targets for community energy. Unstable policies increase investment risk and bureaucracy increases costs and slows down projects. Additional barriers include e.g. lack of knowledge and skills as well as difficulties in accessing financing.

The set of ten policy proposals released today can help policy makers in removing barriers to community energy. The proposals developed in the Co2mmunity project are based on research literature, practical experiences of projects and a broad consultation with experts and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region.

For example, adopting ambitious targets for community energy – like in Scotland – can drive progress. Authorities can streamline permitting and grid connection procedures. Policy makers can also guarantee community energy projects access to affordable financing through e.g. loan guarantees and low-interest loans.

One successful model comes from the Danish Renewable Energy Act which requires offering at least 20% of the shares of wind power projects to the local community. When local people are involved from the beginning, projects are much more likely to move ahead.

The 10 policy proposals

  1. Set targets and plans
  2. Create a stable policy framework
  3. Eliminate regulatory barriers
  4. Involve local people
  5. Ensure access to funding
  6. Provide targeted support
  7. Phase out harmful policies
  8. Provide platforms for CE
  9. Create awareness and provide training
  10. Improve the knowledge base

Background

Community energy refers to energy projects in which local people play an active role together. It covers the production, distribution and storage of electricity, heat and fuels from renewable sources. Local citizens can e.g. initiate, own and run projects through cooperatives and SMEs.

The European Union recognises the importance of community energy. For instance, the directives on electricity markets and renewables incorporate community energy and specify requirements for the Member States. The European Green Deal states: “The clean energy transition should involve and benefit consumers.”

Co2mmunity is a project bringing together 15 organisations in the Baltic Sea region. The mission is to facilitate community energy project development as part of a transition to renewable energy sources. The project is partly funded under the INTERREG programme by the European Regional Development Fund. Co2mmunity covers the eight EU countries in the Baltic Sea region: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

For more information contact Gerlind Wagner-Vogel via info@co2mmunity.eu

See the full document outlining the proposals in English here or find the document in your language in the download area.

Finland: the virtual bus tour continues

The South Ostrobothnian RENCOP in Finland has been organising a virtual bus tour for the housing company representatives (see our latest newsletter for more information). At the moment, they are producing more videos. The first one is a visit to Oy Tampereen Pohjolankatu 18–20, the first housing company in Finland that has tested two-way district heating.

So far, the video is only available in Finnish, but English subtitles will be added soon.

Save the date: Energy District Webinars

The project AREA 21 offers 3 webinars of the series ENERGY DISTRICT WEBINARS AND RESOURCES – TOOLS AND GUIDANCE FOR INTEGRATED DISTRICT-LEVEL ENERGY PLANNING

  • 01 September: Webinar “Energy Improvement Districts: an Instrument for Local Cooperation on Energy Efficiency”: An introduction to and several examples of the Energy Improvement District (EID) concept as a tool for integrated energy planning and a method to support cities in reaching their emissions reductions goals.
  • 08 September: Webinar “Strategic Energy Planning in Urban Districts from a Policy Perspective”: A forum on the current issues of energy improvement policy and collaborative processes in the strategic planning and implementation of energy solutions.
  • 15 September: Webinar “Developing Tools for District-Scale Smart Energy Management”: An introduction of three ICT tools, their development and implementation in urban districts as part of the AREA 21 project and a reflection and discussion of the aspects of smart energy management at the district level.

All three webinars are scheduled from 14:00 to 15:30 (CET). Details and registration links are available at www.area21-project.eu/webinars

New Guidance Document: Energy Communities under the Clean Energy Package

Following the EU’s Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package, EU Member States are currently working on transposing the definitions of Renewable Energy Communities and Citizen Energy Communities into their national laws.

To support this process, RESCOOP.EU has published a Transposition Guidance Document with in-depth explanations and best practice examples.

You can find more information on the RESCOOP.EU Website or directly download the document here.

Great news: Our project has been extended

We have excellent news: Yesterday, the Monitoring Committee of Interreg Baltic Sea Region approved our project application for the extension of the Co2mmunity project. Together with 16 other great projects working on transnational solutions in the Baltic Sea Region, we can continue our work as an Interreg project. The period for the extension is from October 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

The extension phase is under the motto: Energize Co2mmunity – Real-life implementation of renewable community energy projects

Please read this short summary about our future plans:

‘Energize Co2mmunity’ is the real-life implementation of renewable community energy projects in the Baltic Sea Region and continues on our successful project Co2mmunity.

The main objective is to increase the production of renewable energy (RE) in the Baltic Sea Region by piloting renewable community energy projects. Citizens facilitate, implement, and co-finance RE projects, which can be from different local sources (e.g. solar, wind, biomass, geothermic): This is called ‘community energy’ (CE). Such projects foster the Energy Transition and have a high social acceptance through citizens´ involvement in the co-development, co-financing and/or co-operating process.

Due to the extension project, local and regional RE stakeholders in the partner regions, e.g. municipalities, energy and citizen’s associations, and institutions responsible for regional energy planning, will have a higher capacity to produce renewable energy based on the CE approach.

To achieve this, our eight partners will take up and put to life the two main outputs developed in our regular Co2mmunity project, namely ‘Guidelines for participatory mobilization process to set up Renewable Energy Cooperatives (RENCOP)’ and the ‘Transnational CE partner agreement’.

First, the partners will advance the successful work in the Renewable Energy Cooperatives (RENCOPs), which were established in the piloting partner regions. They will implement concrete CE projects that were developed out of these RENCOP activities in the regular project but which still need facilitation to be really implemented.

Second, the partners will draw on the transnational partner agreement and deepen the identified cooperation possibilities among the partner regions. They will apply a transnational pairing approach in which frontrunner and follower partners cooperate. With study visits and the exchange of good practices and know-how, they will support the concrete piloting and involve regional CE stakeholders.

Energize Co2mmunity will produce two main outputs:

  • First, the generation and implementation of ‘six piloted renewable community energy projects’ in different partner regions
  • Second, the partnership will produce a ‘Compilation of findings for CE-solutions’ that will consist of success stories, processes and main lessons learnt from experiences in CE piloting in each of the piloting regions. It will be disseminated, along with a storytelling approach, to ‘renewable energy stakeholders beyond the partnership and international stakeholders’.

To sum up, the Energize Co2mmunity project puts to life and broadens real-life community energy projects, based firstly upon the mobilisation processes out of the RENCOPs and secondly upon transnational pairing and piloting support. The renewable energy stakeholders will achieve, as a result, an increase of production and use of sustainable renewable energy in the Baltic Sea Region.