International platform for the support of energy communities

In the current landscape, active citizen involvement is crucial for ensuring a sustainable energy supply and achieving European and national renewable energy targets.

However, the complex requirements for establishing and implementing community energy cooperatives can create barriers, necessitating significant expertise. This results in unequal opportunities for participation: some individuals possess the knowledge and resources to engage in energy communities, while others lack the time, know-how, or means to take advantage of new initiatives.

To address this gap, it is vital to support citizens interested in creating or expanding energy communities, enabling them to learn from existing experiences.

B.&S.U. – Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt, together with nine partners from six European countries, is involved in the EU-funded SHAREs project under the HORIZON 2020 programme.

The SHAREs initiative aims to assist local stakeholders in forming and growing energy communities, particularly targeting groups that have previously had limited access to citizen energy topics. Each partner country offers a national-language gateway that serves as a central hub for information, templates, and tools needed for setting up or expanding energy communities.

The content on these gateways is developed in collaboration with municipalities, stakeholders, and pilot energy communities and is continuously updated to remain relevant.

Municipalities and regions looking to promote citizen energy communities can utilize the extensive information available through SHAREs. This resource acts as a foundation for educating and mobilizing citizens, while also supporting existing initiatives.

SHAREs facilitates the widespread distribution of essential knowledge, making it accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or prior experience. This approach encourages broad engagement at the municipal and regional levels, fostering the establishment of energy communities and ensuring that the advantages of the energy transition are available to all citizens.

Source: B. & S.U. / North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency

www.bsu-berlin.de

infobsu-berlin [dot] de (info[at]bsu-berlin[dot]de)

www.regea.org

inforegea [dot] org (info[at]regea[dot]org)