Energy Communities: Empowering Citizens Through Knowledge and Engagement

Renewable energy communities empower citizens to drive the energy transition, but their success depends on public engagement. The complexity of setting up community energy cooperatives creates barriers, limiting access to those with expertise and resources. To bridge this gap, it is essential to support citizens in establishing and expanding energy communities, ensuring they can benefit from existing knowledge and opportunities. The EU project SHAREs, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, supported local actors in the establishment and expansion of energy communities and enabled them to reach those target groups that previously had little access to citizen energy initiatives.

In each partner country, the project provided a gateway in the respective national language. These gateways served as central contact points, offering comprehensive information, templates, and tools essential for setting up or expanding energy communities.

In Germany, B.&S.U. Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH, in collaboration with the Federal Office for Energy Cooperatives – DGRV (Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband e.V.) and WIP Renewable Energies, supported municipalities and energy communities. This was achieved through the creation of a national gateway, as well as by providing consultations, workshops, and mentoring events. In total, 106 events took place over the project duration.

The content of the gateways was developed in close cooperation with pioneering municipalities, stakeholders, and pilot energy communities. Municipalities and regions wishing to foster citizen energy communities in their areas benefited from the wide range of resources provided. These materials served as a foundation for informing and mobilising citizens while supporting existing initiatives.

SHAREs enabled a comprehensive dissemination of the necessary knowledge and the involvement of all interested parties, regardless of their background or previous experience. This approach enabled broad-based mobilisation at municipal and regional levels, leading to the creation of 386 energy communities and promoting citizen participation in the energy transition.

This best practice is extracted from our publication ‘Sustainable Regions in Action‘. Discover more best practices here!