Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UP-STAIRS (UP-lifting Communities: Structuring collective Action for Sustainable local Transition and Identifying Regulatory Solutions for adopting frontier technologies and disruptive business models)
Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-02-28
BUILDING A LOW-CARBON, CLIMATE RESILIENT FUTURE: SECURE, CLEAN AND EFFICIENT ENERGY
The objective of the project is to create a One stop Shop Digital Platform which will include information on existing one-stop-shops and sustainable energy communities.
A project website will be developed and will contain the information repository of the programme, training materials, information on energy conservation measures, upcoming events.
The documented data will be useful to Local Authorities, Implementation Champions, local communities, and citizens willing to learn more.
Energy communities One Stop Shops will be launched and tested in 5 regions in Europe: Ireland (Cork city), Bulgaria (Asenovgrad municipality), Germany (Brunnthal municipality), Austria (region of Upper Austria), Spain (Barcelona Metropolitan Area)
There is a gap in the market as many people are still unaware of the need to reduce energy consumption nor are aware of the tools, costs and grants associated with different degrees of retrofit. This is where local authorities can play a major role making retrofit of homes part of the lexicon and something that is achievable by the population of homeowners.
Why is it important:
The residential sector has a significant role to play in achieving the EUs binding target of 32.5% energy efficiency saving by 2030. Recent EU Directives have advanced definitions for two types of energy communities. A ‘Renewable Energy Community’ and a ‘Citizens Energy Community’. While there are similarities between the two, there are key differences - their structure and ability to participate as a market actor. There is limited available information published in an approachable manner that explains these differences. Thus organising an energy community requires a great deal of expertise. The regular consumer often feels side-lined and unable to participate.
Overall Objectives:
Objective 1 - To accelerate the uptake of Sustainable Energy Communities in each of the 5 pilot regions by offering an expert-led programme for establishing and operating a Sustainable Energy Community
Objective 2 - To facilitate an increase in the uptake of prosumership within the local communities as a means of driving investment in renewable energy generation at the local level
Objective 3 - To demonstrate the Flexibility and Collective Action power of the UP-STAIRS Energy Service model framework by applying it across 5 disparate regions with dis-similar residential demographics
Objective 4 - To demonstrate the UP-STAIRS Energy Service as an innovative and effective tool that can be replicated to larger regions by member states to enhance the delivery of Article 2a of the EPBD and the 2018 EU Directive (recast) on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources
The objective of the project is to create a One stop Shop Digital Platform which will include information on existing one-stop-shops and sustainable energy communities.
A project website will be developed and will contain the information repository of the programme, training materials, information on energy conservation measures, upcoming events.
The documented data will be useful to Local Authorities, Implementation Champions, local communities, and citizens willing to learn more.
Energy communities One Stop Shops will be launched and tested in 5 regions in Europe: Ireland (Cork city), Bulgaria (Asenovgrad municipality), Germany (Brunnthal municipality), Austria (region of Upper Austria), Spain (Barcelona Metropolitan Area)
There is a gap in the market as many people are still unaware of the need to reduce energy consumption nor are aware of the tools, costs and grants associated with different degrees of retrofit. This is where local authorities can play a major role making retrofit of homes part of the lexicon and something that is achievable by the population of homeowners.
Why is it important:
The residential sector has a significant role to play in achieving the EUs binding target of 32.5% energy efficiency saving by 2030. Recent EU Directives have advanced definitions for two types of energy communities. A ‘Renewable Energy Community’ and a ‘Citizens Energy Community’. While there are similarities between the two, there are key differences - their structure and ability to participate as a market actor. There is limited available information published in an approachable manner that explains these differences. Thus organising an energy community requires a great deal of expertise. The regular consumer often feels side-lined and unable to participate.
Overall Objectives:
Objective 1 - To accelerate the uptake of Sustainable Energy Communities in each of the 5 pilot regions by offering an expert-led programme for establishing and operating a Sustainable Energy Community
Objective 2 - To facilitate an increase in the uptake of prosumership within the local communities as a means of driving investment in renewable energy generation at the local level
Objective 3 - To demonstrate the Flexibility and Collective Action power of the UP-STAIRS Energy Service model framework by applying it across 5 disparate regions with dis-similar residential demographics
Objective 4 - To demonstrate the UP-STAIRS Energy Service as an innovative and effective tool that can be replicated to larger regions by member states to enhance the delivery of Article 2a of the EPBD and the 2018 EU Directive (recast) on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources
In summary, the key points to note are:
- Working relationship within the consortium is positive and partners support each other
- One pilot site is encountering difficulties in securing the support of the municipalities. Several mitigation strategies have been employed, but the project did not manage to obtain an agreement from other third parties to lead the One Stop Shop (OSS).The Consortium is looking into the possibility of getting a new project partner or pilot region
Under Work Package 1:
- A draft report which details the plan for data and IP management has been sent and is updated every 6 months.
- An ethics compliance report has been completed.
- First progress report has been completed.
Work Package 2 is now complete. The following tasks have been performed:
- Research and review of existing OSSs, stakeholder engagement strategies, existing tools, policies and projects.
- The standardized UP-STAIRS OSS business model framework has been designed for each region.
- A set of collective financial schemes has been developed and it has been assessed and adapted for each region’s typology, socioeconomic, and climate contexts.
- Standards for governance and mediation processes were defined for each region.
- A plan was developed for adapting the UP-STAIRS Framework to the pilot contexts.
- The engagement strategies for enticing citizens to participate in energy communities has been developed for each region.
- The training plan and training material have been developed for the Implementation champions and are now ready to be implemented.
Under Work Package 3:
- Each pilot region has identified Implementation Champions candidates and identified their training needs.
- A community Energy Action plan has been developed for each pilot site (D3.1).
- A plan for monitoring the implementation of the OSSs has been developed.
Under Work Package 4
- A user requirements, system features and design implementation plan has been completed.
- The development of the digital platform for collective actions has started and will be finalized by M24.
- The development of the information platform for the different users has been initiated and will be completely integrated by M24.
Under Work Package 5
- Potential key actors have been surveyed.
- Key steps, incentives and blockages for the collective actions have been identified for each partner country.
- A framework for legal support to citizens has been designed.
Under Work Package 6
- The Dissemination and Communication Plan was developed and submitted.
- The project website was launched, the Social Media channels are active.
- A graphical identity and dissemination materials were created and are disseminated.
Work Package 7 is now complete
- Working relationship within the consortium is positive and partners support each other
- One pilot site is encountering difficulties in securing the support of the municipalities. Several mitigation strategies have been employed, but the project did not manage to obtain an agreement from other third parties to lead the One Stop Shop (OSS).The Consortium is looking into the possibility of getting a new project partner or pilot region
Under Work Package 1:
- A draft report which details the plan for data and IP management has been sent and is updated every 6 months.
- An ethics compliance report has been completed.
- First progress report has been completed.
Work Package 2 is now complete. The following tasks have been performed:
- Research and review of existing OSSs, stakeholder engagement strategies, existing tools, policies and projects.
- The standardized UP-STAIRS OSS business model framework has been designed for each region.
- A set of collective financial schemes has been developed and it has been assessed and adapted for each region’s typology, socioeconomic, and climate contexts.
- Standards for governance and mediation processes were defined for each region.
- A plan was developed for adapting the UP-STAIRS Framework to the pilot contexts.
- The engagement strategies for enticing citizens to participate in energy communities has been developed for each region.
- The training plan and training material have been developed for the Implementation champions and are now ready to be implemented.
Under Work Package 3:
- Each pilot region has identified Implementation Champions candidates and identified their training needs.
- A community Energy Action plan has been developed for each pilot site (D3.1).
- A plan for monitoring the implementation of the OSSs has been developed.
Under Work Package 4
- A user requirements, system features and design implementation plan has been completed.
- The development of the digital platform for collective actions has started and will be finalized by M24.
- The development of the information platform for the different users has been initiated and will be completely integrated by M24.
Under Work Package 5
- Potential key actors have been surveyed.
- Key steps, incentives and blockages for the collective actions have been identified for each partner country.
- A framework for legal support to citizens has been designed.
Under Work Package 6
- The Dissemination and Communication Plan was developed and submitted.
- The project website was launched, the Social Media channels are active.
- A graphical identity and dissemination materials were created and are disseminated.
Work Package 7 is now complete
The OSS in Upper Austria has opened 6 months ahead of the time planned. To date, over 350 individual advice sessions (on-site, by phone, video meetings) were held in Upper Austria. As a special highlight, the ESV partner has also managed to convince the regional government to launch a dedicated financial support programme for RECs.