Report: From Setting Up Energy Communities to Making Them Thrive
EC² recently co-organised a public, online event, giving nine EU-funded projects the opportunity to present the tools they have been producing in relation to their work on energy communities. Energy communities have high potential for moving away from imported fossil fuels, and tools made for various market players, from citizens to technology providers, can support this transition.
The event considered not only ways to get more people to energy communities, but also to ensure a just transition and increased inclusivity within energy communities in the future. Here, EC² was able to present (and gain valuable feedback on) plans for its upcoming Energy Citizenship Academy*, to be released in April 2023. Other notable tools with a focus on inclusion include the W4RES project’s tools on women’s empowerment in the renewable heating and cooling sector, as well as the POWERPOOR project’s Energy Poverty Mitigation Toolkit.
The event highlighted the need for tools which are accessible to the public, such as those which support energy literacy, break language barriers and allow for adaption to national and/or regional contexts.
A recording of the event, as well as a briefing showcasing all tools and projects is available here.
