COMANAGE

Develop transnational governance and a holistic framework of integrated services that supports the sustainability of European energy communities

Description

In recent years, several projects promoting energy communities have been launched in the EU. The launch and implementation of these initiatives, carried out, among others, by projects involving members of the COMANAGE consortium, has shown that energy community projects, once initiated, often have difficulties in consolidating and ensuring proper continuity.

The COMANAGE project is born from this experience, with the aim of addressing and counteracting the main governance and management barriers – including a series of legal, administrative, financial, social and organizational obstacles – that citizen-led energy communities and public participation face. It will do so by creating a methodological framework and an operational governance framework for energy communities, and by providing public authorities involved in energy community projects with a set of integrated services, mechanisms and support tools aimed at facilitating the management and governance of communities and other forms of citizen-led energy initiatives, ensuring their growth and sustainability in the medium and long term.

The ultimate goal of the project will be twofold: firstly, to ensure that already launched energy community projects can take off and grow in the medium and long term. Secondly, to encourage and stimulate the adoption of new community properties and energy projects. With this goal in mind, the project will, on the one hand, put into operation a transnational network of knowledge and skills providers; on the other hand, it will mobilise, involve and operationalise key actors around three new integrated services that will be established in three pilot cases across the EU: the Barcelona Metropolitan Area in Spain (AMB), the Krakow Metropolis Association in Poland (KMA), and the National Association of Italian Municipalities of Lazio in Italy (ANCI LAZIO).

Ecoserveis participation

Leadership in the design of integrated support services for energy communities.

Objectives

Mobilize and put into operation a transnational, intersectoral and multidisciplinary network of knowledge providers, facilitators and developers of integrated services that will create a holistic and operational framework that allows the management and governance of citizen-led energy community projects with public participation.

Develop and test a set of energy communities governance tools: ECGT (Energy Communities Governance Toolkit). They will be implemented collaboratively and with support from local and regional government representatives and other stakeholders mobilized around three integrated support services within three European metropolitan and regional areas.

Facilitate the management and governance of ongoing energy community projects within the three pilot cases and integrate the creation of new energy initiatives.

Demonstrate the effectiveness, sustainability and replicability potential of the project framework and toolkit.