The initiative for Citizen-led renovation embodies a revolutionary strategy for energy efficiency and community involvement in the European Union. It places citizens at the forefront of the energy transition, incorporating building renovations and renewable energy solutions into a holistic programme. This initiative harnesses the combined strength and resources of local communities, with a main emphasis on empowering citizen groups, facilitating the creation of community-led energy projects, and offering technical support to actualise realise these aspirations.
Citizen-led renovation aims to boost the demand for residential energy renovations by mobilising citizen participation. In Phase II, the overarching objective is to extract practical insights by carefully choosing pilot projects, creating a conducive learning environment for Learners and Followers, and actively involving a diverse network of energy communities. This strategy establishes the groundwork for a sustainable renovation ethos driven by communities throughout the EU, envisioning a collective and energy-efficient future.
The Citizen-led renovation initiative will provide tailored support to established or prospective energy communities based on their development stage and commitment to demonstrate the viability and benefits of combining building renovations with renewable energy solutions. Applicants who are not energy communities can still apply and receive a less intensive support. Based on the selection process applicants will be assigned to three different pathways.
- Pathway 1 (Pilots) will include between 5 and 8 pilot projects. Each applicant will receive intense technical assistance and will undergo a personalised experience that includes individualised one-on-one activities, collaboration with peers and engaging in inspiring initiatives. Additionally, webinars will be created to tackle common challenges, and a platform will be designed to facilitate interactions with different stakeholders.
- Pathway 2 (Learners) will include 15 learners which aim to implement the Citizen-led renovation concept but are less mature as initiatives or have less resources available to follow the pace of pathway 1. They will receive a less intense one-on-one consultancy, combined with a self-learning offer, and an elaborate Learners’ community package that contains webinars, P2P exchanges, and ad-hoc discussion groups.
- Pathway 3 (Followers) will include 40 followers which are at an early stage of their Citizen-led renovation journey but demonstrate a clear interest in this area. This pathway is open to energy communities, citizen groups, local authorities, NGOs, and others. They will receive one-on-one consultancy, an elaborate offer for self-learning, and participation in the Follower’s community that offers opportunities to exchange with peers through organised sessions, and a selection of on-demand webinars.
- Must be located in an EU Member State and have available staff or volunteers.
- Cannot combine the support service with other technical assistance or research & innovation funding related to setting up the citizen led renovation service.
- Must send a signed letter of intent to commit to the timeline and objectives of the Citizen-led renovation support service.
- Must be able to commit to achieving a 30% energy savings target from the renovation project they will or aim to implement.
Additional requirements only for Pathway 1 (Pilots):
- Must be an established energy community and provide either legal verification of their status or confirm adherence to the principles of energy communities as stated by the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001) and the Electricity Directive (2019/944).
If you do not currently identify as an official energy community, perhaps due to the absence of such a designation in your country or because your group is in the early stages of forming an energy community, your application is still highly encouraged. We invite citizen groups, local authorities, NGOs, and other organizations actively engaged in or aiming to spearhead citizen-led renovation projects to participate.
Applicants undergo an initial screening where fundamental details about the organisation and verification of eligibility criteria are gathered through a survey. Based on the initial screening, applicants are directed to one of the three Pathways. A secondary screening phase will evaluate applicants' alignment with the energy community concept and their capacity to meet key requirement for each Pathway.
Each application is independently reviewed by two separate organisations to ensure a fair and unbiased assessment. Each question is given a scoring range from 1 to 5 points and the final score is an average of these two assessments.
Applicants who are preliminarily selected will be notified via email and asked to provide information to fulfil the verification requirement.
The initiative will provide to selected participants tailored technical assistance delivered by experts, capacity building, materials and activities for self and peer-to-peer learning. However, no monetary support is provided.
The call for applications is launched on April 10th and will close on the 31st of May. The support provided to selected applicants is going to be delivered between June 2024 and December 2025, depending on the specific Pathway. Detailed information regarding the timeline for each Pathway are provided in the Guidance Document.
The application form is available in all European languages. Therefore, applications can be submitted in your preferred language.
The selected pilots, learners and followers will each get a Single Point of Contact (SPOC). The SPOC will be a local expert to ensure not only geographical proximity, but also an optimal understanding of the local culture, information sources, stakeholders, and the language.
Recognising the diverse linguistic landscape within the European Union, we are committed to providing language accessibility. Therefore, the explanatory document and the guidance document will be translated into all EU languages and selected participants will count on expert support delivered in their local language. However, having an English-speaking representative in your consortium is preferred to enable effective participation in joint webinars and other peer-to-peer activities.
Selected applicants must have available staff or volunteers. During the secondary screening applicant will need to provide information on resources available for the project and will be awarded a score from 1-5 accordingly. Selected applicants will have to provide an estimation of the work hours that can be committed by the participant by paid or unpaid staff or volunteers for the duration of the project, where consistency needs to be guaranteed. The community must name a main contact person, who is highly committed, has leadership skills and understands the time commitments.
Selected applicants cannot combine the support service with other EU funded technical assistance or research & innovation programmes that provide support for the same type of activity as the citizen led renovation service.
Selected applicants will be asked to declare that they are not currently receiving financial support for the development of their services on citizen led renovation during the verification phase.
To be eligible there is no requirement to present a portfolio of past projects or proof of prior experience. However, during the scoring phase applicants for Pathway 1 (pilots) will be asked whether previously implemented engagement strategies proved to be successful in terms of the number of citizens involved and extent of activities undertaken, or for entities that are new to this type of activity provide future plans to achieve these objectives. Moreover, they will be asked to provide a description of the Pilot project, and type of homes and other buildings for which the owner is willing to invest in energy saving (>30%) and renewable energy systems integration. Finally, they must elaborate on the potential for replication within the Citizens Energy Community(s)/Renewable Energy Community(s) and wider audience.
Below, you can find information about select ongoing initiatives, including a direct link to each pilot's profile on our website. There, you can read about their experiences and the expected outcomes of their ongoing work.
To ensure alignment with the initiative's goals, the evaluation will consider whether your project focuses on enhancing energy efficiency in buildings through community-led actions, incorporates renewable energy solutions, and promotes active participation and empowerment of community members. Projects that align with these objectives typically contribute to reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon emissions, and contributing to sustainable community development.
Projects are prioritised based on their potential impact on energy efficiency, innovation in community engagement, scalability, and replicability. Additional considerations include the project's soundness and feasibility, identification of constraints and limitations, alignment with the initiative's goals, the readiness and capacity of the community to implement the project, and the potential for creating lasting changes in energy consumption behaviours. All questions are evaluated based on 1-5 scoring matrix.
Projects are expected to face challenges, and the initiative is designed to offer adaptive support. This includes regular check-ins, access to expert advice, and the flexibility to adjust project plans as needed. Communities are encouraged to share their challenges and learnings on the Futurium platform to seek advice and support from peers and experts.
Yes, one of the key components of the initiative is to develop networking and collaboration among energy communities. This is facilitated through the Futurium platform, organised workshops, peer-to-peer exchange sessions, and community events designed to share best practices, challenges, and successes, creating a vibrant ecosystem of energy communities across the EU.