How to accelerate the deployment of Energy Transition? Insights from ePLANET final event

On the 10th of June, under the hospices of the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the EU, ePLANET project held its final event “How to accelerate the deployment of Energy Transition to fulfil the 2030 and 2050 Energy Goals” in the scope of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), as part of the Sustainable Days programme. It was a collective effort of partners from the project consortium with the support of the Covenant of Mayors – Europe, RESCHOOL, IN-PLAN and Regio 1st projects.

The agenda of the event allowed for a dynamic conference with insightful discussions. After a networking lunch where the participants got to know each other, the remainder of the programme was clustered into three thematic sessions, all suggesting ways of speeding up the roll-out of the energy transition in European regions.

Find a suitable governance model for your region

ePLANET platform was conceived and developed to be embedded in the EU Energy Transition Governance framework so we decided to dedicate our first session to the topic of the energy transition governance.

One of the most successful initiative in this field in Europe is the Covenant of Mayors – Europe (CoMo – Europe) initiative which proposes a framework of commitment and reporting for the municipalities to reach climate neutrality by 2050. ePLANET supported the initiative by dedicating one of its platform use cases to the digitisation of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs). Naturally, we invited Pedro Bizzaro from the CoMo-Europe secretariat to set the scene for this first panel by reminding us the key aspects of the initiative, insisting on the multi-level governance perspective.

In order to further integrate ePLANET platform into the EU Energy Transition Governance Framework, our partner ICAEN conducted an analysis of the different energy governance structure in our pilot regions. From this analysis they developed a new clustering governance concept. They presented part of their results during this first session, focusing on Catalonia. If you want to know more about the results of this analysis you can consult our dedicated articles here and here.

Finally, we invited Jérémy Cléro to present the vision of our sister-project IN-PLAN on how to cope with the lack of capacity and mechanisms to enact and enforce binding energy and climate policies on a local or regional level. They advocate for a vertical and horizontal integration and an alignment of strategies, plans, and policies into spatial planning which is already biding. This approach allows for a systemic, integrated, and consistent approach to energy and climate planning.

Tips and tools for a successful implementation

For our second discussion, we choose to share tips and tools for the successful implementation of energy transition measures.

To kick start the discussion, we invited Florine Serrault from REGIO1st project to present the Energy Efficiency 1st (EE1st) principle and explain how to integrate it into regional planning. This principle was introduced in the article 3 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) along with a new target to reach 11.7% of energy reduction across the EU by 2030. REGIO1st is developing a planning framework providing a comprehensive and structured approach for regional energy planners in Europe to develop and implement sustainable, cost-effective energy strategies in line with this EE1st principle.

After underlying the importance of data to track and assess the energy transition, Gerard Laguna explained how the ePLANET platform contributes to this objective. He focused on one of the use case of the platform, the digitalisation of the SECAPs. This feature comprise a user-friendly data visualisation with graphs on key consumption trends at municipal level and a regional observatory tracking the energy consumption of each municipality. It allows to integrate all municipal plans into the same environment, providing general figures of the energy transition actions, and providing a regional transversal view of the energy transition plans development.

To close this topic, after an overview of the energy transition in Greece and Crete, Georgia Piligotsi shared the user experience of the Regional Development Fund of Crete (RDFC) by explaining how they use the platform and how it helps them monitor the implementation of the municipal energy and climate plans and to assess the implemented measures. Among others, she shared two key tips drawn from the lessons learnt from the implementation of the project: 1. Tackle human error or inattention to detail when keeping records of energy consumption. 2. Technical municipal staff must be actively involved and engaged in the data clearance, recognition and classification.

Engage stakeholders through Energy Communities

Finally, our third and last session focused on the nexus between energy data and energy communities leading ultimately to stakeholders engagement.

In a first part, Gerard Laguna explained how energy data could help uncover Energy Communities’ potential by analysing public buildings consumption and investigating energy production possibilities. He presented two use cases of the ePLANET platform. The first one is the PV potential analysis of public buildings based on LiDAR and Cadaster data. The second one is a visualisation of the energy consumption of the buildings, it includes graphs on all energy consumptions. To allow for a proper monitoring, data is available on a monthly basis and the platform can also be used to compare the different buildings.

To give a user perspective, Tomáš Perutka gave some insights on EAZK experience in using the platform. They now have access to the analysis of the performance of their public building stock and a proper benchmarking of the energy consumption of the different buildings which allows an enhanced energy management. The other output available to them is a mapping of the public buildings in the Zlín region related to pdf documents including a summary of the PV potential analysis of each building. Now that this data is available, EAZK is investigating which kind of projects and measure can be implemented.

To give some inspiration on the next steps and the kind of project that can be implemented thanks to the analysis of energy data, we invited Anaïs Varo to present RESCHOOL methodology and approach to set energy communities. Their idea is to use intergenerational transfers to promote societal change
in the energy system. They particularly focus on schools by providing them flexible, adaptable and accessible pedagogical resources.

Join ePLANET community, sign our Joint Agreement!

In the face of escalating climate change, depleting natural resources, and increasing energy demands, the need for a sustainable and resilient energy system has never been more urgent. We invite you to confirm or reaffirm your commitments by signing our Joint Agreement. This Agreement is a collective commitment to transition towards a clean, efficient, and inclusive energy future. It outlines our shared vision, principles, and priorities to ensure a sustainable future for all.

More information on the joint agreement here.

If you missed the event you can still consult the slides here.