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Citizen-led renovation
  • News article
  • 23 October 2024
  • Directorate-General for Energy
  • 2 min read

Highlights from our Citizen-led renovation Event

Group of people discussing in a circle
Citizen-led renovation

November's Citizen-led renovation (CLR) event in Lisbon brought together stakeholders from across Europe to explore solutions and share experiences on driving community-led renovation projects. Participants engaged in various interactive sessions, focusing on overcoming challenges, enhancing knowledge sharing, and strengthening community engagement. Below are some key highlights from the two-day event:

Group Interactive Activity: Exploring Challenges, Collaboration, and Engagement

This session, conducted by Francesco Lecchi, divided participants into four groups, each tasked with discussing and documenting key themes across three rounds:

  1. Overcoming Challenges: Participants highlighted common issues such as lack of technical knowledge and capacity-building opportunities for communities, along with financial constraints and complex legal and administrative barriers. They discussed potential solutions, including creating community learning spaces, engaging local municipalities, and simplifying regulations.
  2. Knowledge Sharing: Participants emphasised the importance of both internal and external knowledge exchange. Discussions centred on using social networks, in-person meetings, and creating social hubs to strengthen knowledge-sharing within communities. Effective knowledge dissemination was also a key focus, particularly in rural areas.
  3. Engaging the Community: Participants explored strategies for increasing community involvement by focusing on motivations such as financial savings, improved home comfort, cultural heritage preservation, and fostering social cohesion. They also shared best practices for overcoming hesitancy and scepticism, including organising open-house events to showcase tangible project benefits.

Individual Interactive Activity: Exploring Your CLR Journey

Participants reflected on their communities’ aspirations, challenges, and success metrics through an interactive vision-boarding activity using Mentimeter. Supported by their Single Points of Contact (SPOCs), they identified key milestones and developed roadmaps for their CLR initiatives, offering deep insights into their paths forward.

People sitting together discussing
Citizen-led renovation

Funding Opportunities Workshop

Led by Manuel Nery Nina from GoParity, the Funding Opportunities Workshop provided participants with a detailed overview of diverse financing mechanisms tailored to energy communities. Manuel outlined key financing options, including:

  • Own Funds: While communities with internal resources may choose to self-fund early-stage initiatives, this is often combined with other financing methods.
  • Grants: Government and EU-level grants, such as those from Horizon Europe, were highlighted as crucial for renewable energy and efficiency projects.
  • Loans: Emphasis was placed on green loans, which offer extended repayment periods and lower interest rates. These loans are particularly suited for long-term projects, like district heating systems. Additionally, crowdlending was spotlighted as an innovative way to engage local and European citizens in financing energy projects, with platforms like GoParity enabling direct investment into community-led projects.

Manuel also emphasised the role of municipal guarantees and public-private partnerships, explaining how collaboration with local authorities and businesses can reduce financial risk and unlock additional funding opportunities.

Social Media Workshop

The Social Media Workshop, led by Siora Keller from the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, provided hands-on guidance for energy communities looking to enhance their online presence. Participants learned how to identify their audience, select the most appropriate platforms, and craft content strategies that align with their community goals. Key insights included:

  • Platform Selection: Several popular social media platforms were evaluated for their strengths, with Facebook noted for its community engagement, Instagram for visual storytelling, and LinkedIn for professional networking.
  • SMART Goals: Participants were encouraged to set realistic, measurable objectives, such as increasing followers or engagement within a specific timeframe.
  • Content Strategy: Content creation frameworks, like the 1-3-9 Method and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), helping communities plan diverse and engaging content that resonates with their audience, were shared.

This session facilitated the exchange of ideas and experiences, providing actionable strategies for European communities to take their renovation projects to the next level. Stay tuned for future workshops and support resources as we continue to build momentum towards a sustainable and energy-efficient future.

Details

Publication date
23 October 2024
Author
Directorate-General for Energy