Report – Solar Cities: 21 solar solutions for the local energy transition

With around 80% of energy consumption in the European Union linked to urban activity, local public authorities and local and regional energy agencies are on the frontlines of the climate and energy crises.  

This report put the spotlight on 21 solar solutions, of which 9 good practices come from FEDARENE members. Congratulations to them and to the inspiring projects:

• The 2 PVs projects, supported by ITC, in Cabildo and in the energy community of Alojera on the La Gomera Gran Canaria island, that has committed 100% renewable transition thanks to distributed generation. (more info p.21) 
• The public-private partnership led by EKIOLA, which focuses on creating prosumer power cooperatives, building and operating PV parks in the Basque Country through agreements with municipalities and citizens. (more info on the project supported by EVE p. 22) 
• The local companies of ‘Centrales Villageoises’ whose shareholders are mainly citizens, local municipalities, and local companies. In 2021, it represented 5,150 shareholders and 350 solar PV plants in operation. (more info on the project supported by AURA EE p. 27) 
• The family-owned, local agribusiness of Kehoe’s Ketripack, which operated a conversion to solar energy and energy efficiency, that made them save € 2,443 a month on electricity. (more info on the project supported by SEEA p. 28) 

• The solar roofs programme of the city of Zagreb, aiming to significantly increase its share of renewable energy production through building-integrated PV installations. (more info on the project supported by REGEA p. 30) 
• The Solar PV potential tool, developed by the city of Zagreb, and which enables the calculation of relevant parameters for installation of PV systems on buildings (more info on the project supported by REGEA p. 35) 
• Upper Austria region already has 35,000 PV systems, covering 15% of the annual residential electricity demand, and saving 100,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. (more info on this success enabled by ESV p. 41) 
• ‘The Future of Solar’ (Framtidens Solel), involving the Örebro County Energy Agency (Energikontoret) and the Mälardalen Energy Agency (more info p. 43) 
• The Basque Energy Cluster, a non-profit organisation set up to foster the coordination of the rollout of the local solar PV ecosystem. (more info on this project supported by EVE p. 46) 

“All the local-scale projects in this report are inspiring examples, paving the path to broader deployment of solar power and renewable energy across Europe and showing how much cities, regions, and energy agencies are key stakeholders in the ramping up of the energy transition.”

Julije Domac, President of FEDARENE and Managing Director of REGEA (HR) commented.