During the webinar “More than renewables. The social impact of energy sharing.” held on 21 May 2025, moderated by Marine Cornelis, Next Energy Consumer, we looked into the innovative local approaches to tackling energy poverty through community-driven renewable energy initiatives. During 75 minutes we brought together municipal representatives and energy practitioners to share and discuss experiences from two pilot sites: Valencia (Spain) and Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic). The session highlighted practical solutions that empower vulnerable households, foster social inclusion, and support a just energy transition by positioning local actors—so-called “social energy players”—at the heart of the change.
▶️ Watch the replay
For a start, Miriam Eisermann from Energy Cities briefly presented the POWER UP project, which aims to combat energy poverty by fostering local energy market players with a social agenda. She emphasized the project’s co-creation approach, involving vulnerable households and local stakeholders in designing business models for renewable energy and energy efficiency. These models are tailored to address the specific needs of communities, ensuring affordability and sustainability. We reminded the project’s structure over five phases from 2021 to 2025, focusing on capacity building, pilot implementation, and scaling successful models. The ultimate goal is to empower communities to become active participants in the energy transition, reducing energy poverty through inclusive and locally-driven solutions.
Moderator Marine Cornelis then introduced the talks and discussed with the two speakers:
- Arturo Zea from the Fundación València Clima i Energia
- Tereza Vanova, SEMMO
Arturo Zea from the Fundación València Clima i Energia presented Valencia’s innovative approach to addressing energy poverty through very tailored support for community-driven renewable energy initiatives on the one side, and energy sharing with cemetery PV installations on the other side. Valencia’s approach integrates renewable energy production with social welfare by using public infrastructure to generate energy and redistribute it to vulnerable populations. This model exemplifies how municipalities can play a pivotal role in ensuring a fair and inclusive energy transition.
Key Highlights:
- Energy Offices (Oficinas de la Energía): Valencia has established multiple Energy Offices across the city, serving as one-stop shops to support citizens in the energy transition. These offices provide personalized advice on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy rights, with a particular focus on assisting vulnerable households.
- Renewable Energy Communities (RECs): The city has facilitated the creation of several energy communities, including CEL de Castellar l’Oliveral, CER de Aiora i Algirós, and CEL de Malilla, among others. These communities enable residents to collectively produce and share renewable energy, fostering local engagement and inclusivity. Public procurement processes for tendering public roofs have been adapted for that purpose.
- ‘Requiem in Power’ (RIP) Project: An innovative initiative involves installing over 2.8 MWp of solar panels on five municipal cemeteries. The energy generated is allocated as follows: 75% for self-consumption by municipal buildings (such as schools and elderly centers) within a 2 km radius, and 25% directed to neighbouring vulnerable households identified by social services. This model not only promotes renewable energy but also ensures that the benefits reach those most in need.
Finally, Tereza Vanova whose organisation SEMMO involved the city of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic) as a pilot in the POWER UP project, presented the social housing and one-stop-shop initiative in this town.
Municipally-led PV installation on one social housing building:
- Location: Moravská Apartment Building, a municipally owned 85-flat complex constructed in 1970.
- Energy Initiative: Installation of a 39 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system complemented by battery storage. The project received a subsidy of 1.6 million CZK, with completion targeted for June 2025. Incentives for participation encompassed potential rent reductions contingent upon granting the city access to electricity invoices.
Technical and Legal Framework:
- Electricity Sharing: The city will serve as the administrator of the Electricity Sharing Group (SSE), as defined by Czech legislation. This framework permits dynamic allocation of PV-generated electricity among up to 50 metering points, eliminating distribution fees.
- Data Management: An Energy Data Centre (EDC) will oversee administrative processes related to energy distribution and consumption monitoring.
Anticipated Benefits:
- For Residents: Access to renewable energy leading to lower electricity bills and enhanced energy autonomy.
- For the Municipality: Ability to sell surplus electricity back to the grid, generating revenue that can be reinvested into community projects.
This initiative exemplifies how municipalities can leverage renewable energy projects to address energy poverty, foster community engagement.
More to come
Join us for the next webinar on 27 June focusing on the co-design processes that were led by POWER UP pilots with and for vulnerable households.
10:11:15 “Impact through trust: Co-designing energy communities with vulnerable households”
Speakers:
- Jan de Pauw, Ecopower (Belgium)
- Felipe Barroco, AESS – Agenzia per l’Energia e lo sviluppo sostenibile (Italy)
