Municipal Action, Public Engagement and Routes Towards Energy Transition

Project Information

mPOWER

Grant agreement ID: 785171

DOI

10.3030/785171

Project closed

EC signature date 5 February 2018

Start date 1 May 2018

End date 31 October 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 1 999 396,25

EU contribution

€ 1 999 396,25

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - mPOWER (Municipal Action, Public Engagement and Routes TowardsEnergy Transition)

Reporting period: 2021-05-01 to 2022-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

MPOWER confronts the issue of how municipal authorities across Europe can best succeed in advancing the energy transition away from carbon-based fuels towards renewables. It involved an in-depth, wide-scale and systematic peer-to-peer learning programme across the continent’s municipal (as in local, sub-national) public authorities, in order to replicate innovative best practices in municipal energy and develop ambitious transition plans. Local action – particularly in urban areas which account for 75 per cent of Europe’s population – it was critical to tackling the climate emergency. In this respect, local municipal action, together with citizen participation and effective forms of public energy organisation, were key aspects of the project.
Some European cities, particularly in Germany, Denmark and Spain, have made innovations in energy sector management, from running distribution networks, new supply companies, and renewable generation, to facilitating citizen participation processes, to sourcing public/alternative finance for energy projects. Other cities across Europe are exploring their options for municipal energy and are looking to learn from best practice elsewhere. mPOWER mapped existing municipal energy policy and identified innovation practices and solutions, as well as obstacles. A key concern was with overcoming the barriers facing municipal actors. To this end, the project’s central aim was encouraging peer-learning among municipalities and the adoption of successful strategies to achieve energy transition.
The overall objectives of the project were:
● To map and document best practice in municipal energy transition
● To undertake a European wide peer learning initiative to disseminate best practice
● To accelerate the process of energy transition across European municipalities.

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

Our initial findings suggest a high level of motivation among municipalities to deliver on energy transition targets, with carbon reduction being the leading factor for pursuing transition agendas. The research so far indicates considerable national level constraints and blockages that municipalities face in pursuing ambitious carbon reduction and transition strategies but also considerable innovation in overcoming these blockages. Transition achievements seem higher where there is considerable sustained national commitment, allied with local actors having considerable devolved powers and municipal governance and ownership capacities.
We have carried out a number of research study visits to leading municipalities across Europe (including Aberdeen, Hamburg, Ghent, Ljubljana and Ettlingen) in diverse geographical settings although this was constrained by Pandemic related travel restrictions. These visits have been used to triangulate our earlier findings and add depth to the explanations we are developing to understand the diversity of municipal action on energy transitions.
We have completed the delivery of mPOWER Exchange, our bespoke peer-peer learning programme, that worked with small groups with no more than six municipalities at a time. This part of the programme consisted of study visits, expert witness sessions and peer-peer learning and problem solving. mPOWER Exchange’s final output’s were replication plans and a celebration event.
In preparation for the delivery of mPOWER Digital, we conducted three study visits to Nis, Burgas and Brussels. These have been turned into three documentaries that can be viewed here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI6TsTB_YajkHoyD9WtkR2u9nm2BwAV6o)
We have coordinated and delivered mPOWER Digital, our online learning programme, three times. mPOWER Digital is a comprehensive course in how municipalities can deliver a fair, clean and democratic energy transition whilst considering participation and addressing energy poverty. We focus on different forms of public and community ownership, as well as public-public, public-civic and public-private partnerships. The course uses case studies of best practice in the municipal energy transition from across Europe. In each course the content has expanded with new materials that have been developed by the project, including podcasts, videos and blogs. Project participants can continue to share and disseminate learning on our mailing list and in our Facebook group. This website (https://mpowerlearn.co.uk/) has been built that contains the many resources of mPower Digital, allowing additional municipalities to engage with these materials.
Key learnings from mPOWER Digital are the importance of learning spaces for local authorities in realising a just, fair and democratic energy transition. We also learnt that many local authorities simply do not have the capacity to explore best practice, but having knowledge of what other options are available has helped them to build a case within their own contexts for more ambitious plans.
We coordinate and delivered mPOWER Activate, our bespoke one-one incubator programme. This part of the project worked one on one with a municipality to support them towards realising an aspect of their energy transition plans.

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)

A key difficulty for many municipalities is a lack of strategic capacity, resources and also finance in pursuing climate mitigation strategies and achieving targets. For many municipalities, a core focus has been on repurposing public assets, infrastructures and buildings that are under their control. On the other hand, a major obstacle to transition appears to be related to private buildings and assets, which are typically less controllable for municipal authorities even if the will for transition is present. The potential for new forms of public energy organisation that circumvent some of the resistance encountered by private actors is also a key emerging theme.
Our findings suggest that the vast majority of municipalities are now involved in producing their own renewable forms of energy, with solar power and biomass being particularly prevalent. The opportunity to use biomass alongside CHP in district heating systems seems to be a popular option for both producing energy and improving efficiencies. While municipalities as a whole do not seem to have advanced far in terms of more technologically sophisticated smart grid systems and networks, there are some excellent and innovative examples emerging in the retro-fitting of buildings that might be replicable elsewhere as forms of best practice.
By drawing upon and sharing examples of best practice through the project, we found that the peer-to-peer learning aspects help to disseminate innovative solutions to energy transition elsewhere. Developing further analysis of the blockages and constraints encountered and the creative strategies that municipalities develop – including constructing new forms of finance and new partnerships with other actors – were key elements of the project.

mpower RP2-

mpower RP2