Ten citizen-led energy communities win the first EU Prize for Governance Innovations in Energy Communities

Today, the European Commission awarded the first Prize for Governance Innovations in Energy Communities. The prize recognises renewable and citizen energy communities that stand out for how they make decisions, share benefits and work with local authorities and businesses. Ten communities from six countries share a total of €1 million.

The winning communities received their prizes at the European Research and Innovation Days in Brussels, after each of the ten finalists had pitched its governance model to the audience.

The winners show how energy communities can open their doors to everyone. Their members range from tenants and homeowners to small businesses, schools, social organisations and municipalities. Several have found ways to include people who could otherwise not take part. They also make sure every voice counts, with one member, one vote in their general assemblies and leadership roles open to women and young members.

This year's winners are:

Manza Energía (Spain)

€350 000

Launched in 2022 by the municipality of Manzanares el Real, near Madrid, and now run by a residents' association, Manza Energía shares the output of a 100 kWp solar plant on the municipal sports hall between the sports centre, the public school and local families, giving priority to energy-vulnerable households.

Robin Powerhood (Austria)

€200 000

Austria's first eco-social energy community. Its more than 140 members donate their surplus solar electricity to households in energy poverty, who are identified together with social organisations such as Caritas St. Pölten.

Viver Telheiras (Portugal)

€100 000

The Telheiras/Lumiar renewable energy community in Lisbon, set up in 2021, is run by the non-profit association Viver Telheiras, which coordinates a network of local NGOs, together with the Lumiar parish council.

Ketelhuis WG (Netherlands)

€50 000

Founded in 2018 by residents of the former Wilhelmina Gasthuis site in Amsterdam, this cooperative is building its own neighbourhood heat network using heat from a nearby canal, so that more than 1 000 homes and businesses can stop using natural gas. The cooperative will own the whole energy system.

CERCA (Spain)

€50 000

A cooperative renewable energy community covering the county of Calatayud in Aragon, designed through participatory processes. It has put 14 shared solar installations into service, supplying 145 connection points, all of them members.

brupower (Belgium)

€50 000

A citizen energy community covering the whole Brussels-Capital Region, with more than 300 cooperative members. brupower shares locally produced solar energy with partners such as a day centre for homeless people and the municipality of Saint-Gilles, which opens its surplus energy to local families and shopkeepers.

Manresa Il·lumina (Spain)

€50 000

Spain's first industrial renewable energy community, set up in 2022 as a non-profit cooperative by companies of the Bufalvent industrial estate, with the local business association and the city of Manresa as collaborating members. Its member companies share around 1 MWp of solar power.

ECoOB (Belgium)

€50 000

A citizens' energy cooperative founded in 2018 in Herent, near Leuven, with several hundred shareholders. It finances and manages rooftop solar installations and works with the city of Leuven to put panels on its largest roofs.

Minoa Energeiaki (Greece)

€50 000

Crete's first energy community, founded in 2019 in Arkalochori, brings citizens and municipalities together. A project funded by its members will give over 100 households and businesses free electricity for 25 years.

Hyperion (Greece)

€50 000

Athens' first energy community to produce its own solar energy, Hyperion has about 120 members, and 71% of its decisionmakers are women. All major decisions are taken by a general assembly where every member has an equal vote, and members crowdfunded the inclusion of energy-vulnerable households free of charge.

Background

The Prize for Governance Innovations in Energy Communities rewards governance models that other communities can learn from: inclusive membership and leadership, fair ways of raising money and sharing benefits, and close links with local and regional transition plans. It was open to renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities, as defined in EU law, with up to 10 000 members.

An independent jury of experts assessed the applications against four criteria:

• the inclusiveness of the governance structure,
• the internal governance process,
• links to the regional and local transition, and
• other innovative approaches.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) manages the prize on behalf of the Commission.

Next steps

The Commission will continue to work with the ten winners to share what they have learned with energy communities across Europe, such as through lessons-learnt workshops.

Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation, with a budget of €95.5 billion for 2021-2027. The prize is funded under its Cluster 5, 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'.