Eurosolar for all: energy communities for a fair energy transition in Europe (Sun4All)

Project Information

Sun4All

Grant agreement ID: 101032239

DOI

10.3030/101032239

Project closed

EC signature date 10 May 2021

Start date 1 October 2021

End date 30 September 2024

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 1 665 764,87

EU contribution

€ 1 660 264,87

Coordinated by

ASOCIACION ECOSERVEIS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Sun4All (Eurosolar for all: energy communities for a fair energy transition in Europe (Sun4All))

Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Energy poverty is a growing problem across Europe, indicating that an increasing number of people are struggling to afford their energy bills and live comfortably without concerns about their consumption requirements. Sun4All advocates for a shift from oligarchic, fossil fuel-based systems to community-driven, renewable energy solutions, representing a community model that ensures inclusivity and aims to alleviate energy poverty through sustainable energy sources.

The model is focused in providing both financial and non-financial support to the participant households by taking advantage of the generated solar energy by local photovoltaic installations, either by providing this energy for direct consumption or by feeding it into the local power grid and distributing the benefits with the participant households. This way participant households can continue getting electricity as usual, from renewable sources and without having to invest in solar panels. The model conceives the concept of “community energy”, creating spaces for households to participate in workshops related to energy rights and efficiency and to receive further advice for their energy management and home. These spaces also served as empowering spaces to share knowledge and experiences between them.

Sun4All has adapted the Solar for all initiative from New York State in the US to the European context, in 4 cities and regions in Europe: Barcelona (ES), Communauté de Communes Coeur de Savoie (FR), Rome (IT) and Almada (PT).

Hence, each of the pilot cities has designed customized models tailored to their specific needs, ensuring the provision of multiple co-benefits such as:
• Beneficiaries benefit from cost savings.
• Access is guaranteed for renters and homeowners, ensuring inclusivity in the energy transition.
• Personalized advice is provided to beneficiaries, promoting long-term behavioural change.

Following testing and evaluation in these four pilots, the program was expected to be replicated and expanded to at least 10 other cities within the EU, with the aim of establishing it as a permanent program in Europe, for which a Community of Practice was established.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project consists of six work packages (WP).

WP1 was dedicated to project coordination and management. It served as a cross-cutting work package, ensuring the project's successful implementation and providing the consortium with necessary tools and resources, as well as ensuring a good and communicative working environment.

WP2 was dedicated to defining the different business models. First, blueprints and implementation plans were developed for each pilot city, adapting the New York State “Solar for All” model to the specific European and local contexts. The initial version of these blueprints was tested and were further revised after the implementation and assessment, to ensure they are more accurate and replicable across Europe. The Community of Practice Observers Group was established by the end of March 2023, counting with 9 members.

WP3 was centred around user identification, defining eligibility criteria for participation, and implementing engagement actions. All pilot cities have defined these aspects to ensure the successful implementation of the pilot program. Pilots followed the elaborated materials for conducting all engagement and recruitment actions for the piloting. Additionally, efforts were done to define the mentoring process across all project pilots.

WP4 was dedicated to the implementation and evaluation of the Sun4All scheme in the pilot cities. Impact assessment indicators and evaluation guidelines were defined and followed. Follow-up and exchange sessions were carried out between the project pilots to learn from each other and cope with existing barriers and challenges. Findings showed that Sun4All made a positive impact by reaching energy-poor households and promoting energy efficiency knowledge.

WP5 was focused on ensuring that Sun4All remains as a stable programme to tackle energy poverty and ensure vulnerable consumers participation in the energy transition in Europe. First, an initial analysis of the regulatory framework was done, along with the development of sustainable adoption roadmap. WP5 gained knowledge from the project different work packages, which contributed to better understanding Sun4All’s focus, crucial for developing the capacity building and knowledge sharing program, as well as, for the creation of the Sustainable Adoption plans, 4 coming from pilot cities and 9 from the CoP members. Finally, Sun4All’s final event and policy advocacy activities were done.

WP6 was focused on communication and dissemination actions and served as another cross-cutting work package. To ensure effective and cohesive project communication, a visual identity, communication strategy, and guidelines were established. A video promoting the project and pilot specific videos showing the main results were created. Furthermore, this work package emphasized the importance of networking and collaboration with related projects and initiatives.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Besides the Blueprints revised version, which detail how the different implemented schemes work, the pilot cities, have elaborated Sustainable Adoption Plans, which include some protocols and future actions need to be done to guarantee the sustainability of the tested schemes in each of the regions. Moreover, at EU level different materials have been created, like the Sustainable Implementation Plan (CoP members), the Sustainable Adoption Roadmap for Europe and the Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Programme, to facilitate the replication and scaling up of the Sun4All initiative, which aims to address energy poverty while promoting a fair and inclusive energy transition.

Overall, the project has reached 1.250 direct beneficiaries in the 4 pilot cities, and has involved a total of 5.619 consumers, which sums up to 6.869 consumers, how benefited from the different project activities and materials created fostering knowledge sharing and awareness raising. These activities include citizenship workshops, the insights provided by the Community of Practice Observer's group, and the Capacity Building and Knowledge sharing program. Through these endeavours, the project sought fostering behavioural change, empower citizens, encourage active participation in local communities, and enhance the living conditions of vulnerable individuals.

It is worth noting that the:

• Barcelona pilot will continue implementing the tested schemes in new buildings and will start testing a new scheme which was not possible to be tested due to political reasons.
• Almada pilot will also continue engaging more beneficiaries, following the process tested during the implementation of Sun4All.
• Coeur de Savoie pilot, tested two different models one focused on building renovation and the second one, introducing a ground-breaking self-consumption scheme, representing a pioneering solution in France.
• Rome pilot, doubled the numbers of direct beneficiaries as part of the RECS (Renewable Energy Communities for Solidarity) model, which was very successful and having still actions to be done and continuous communication with participants.

Lastly, the project gained very high visibility at regional, national and EU level, having quite an impact on policies addressing energy poverty, with the development of recommendations based on the project's outcomes.

Sun4All general infographic