News
A new platform gathers tools and resources to help energy communities move forward
There are many useful tools and resources on the internet to help citizens set up an energy community, but these are scattered across many different websites. Following the work done a few years ago by Munster Technological University, REScoop.eu has joined forces with several EU projects to make things easier and bring all resources together in one single place: the Energy Community Platform. This new website aims to provide citizens with all support they need to move forward with their energy community projects.
What does the Energy Community Platform offer?
The key features of the Energy Community Platform include a maturity test, a collection of resources and tools, a map of energy communities, and a network of experts.
A test to self-assess the maturity of your energy community
The Energy Community Platform has a unique feature that allows citizens to self-assess the development stage of their community energy project. It is a test with 21 questions based on the maturity scale model developed by the Compile project. The questionnaire is designed with all types of energy communities in mind, so it is useful for any project in any European country, regardless of the activities they are involved in.
The result of the test includes an explanation of the community's stage of development, and some indications to assess their strengths and weaknesses and help them move forward. In addition, the platform offers a selection of resources based on the test results.
In the upcoming months, another test will be added to assess the environmental, economic and social impact of energy communities and provide recommendations on how to maximise this impact.
The resource collection
The Energy Community Platform's broad collection of resources is one of its key features. Until now, citizens interested in community energy had to jump from one website to another searching for the most suitable resources for their project. The Energy Community Platform gathers them in one place!
We have collected and labelled more than 100 resources that help citizens move forward with community energy projects at every stage of development. These resources, mostly developed by EU projects or energy communities, can be filtered by development stage, activity (production, supply, mobility, home renovations...), area (technical, legal, financial...), language or country.
The collection is alive and we keep adding new ones. Would you like to include a resource in the catalogue? Share it with us using this Google form.
The community energy map
A map on the Platform features energy communities across Europe to inspire others and facilitate exchange and collaborations across borders. Energy communities can be contacted through a contact form (accessible only to registered users) and anyone can add their community energy project to give it visibility, inspire others and create connections.
The experts network
Citizens in need of professional support can look for a community energy expert on the platform. They can search for the most suitable specialist by field of work (technical, legal, financial…), activity (production, district heating, energy saving, flexibility, collective purchasing…), language or keyword.
The network's experts are professional consultants, and can therefore charge a fee for the services they offer.
The story of the Energy Community Platform
The platform started as part of the Interreg NWE ECCO project, where Munster Technological University (MTU) developed a prototype for an online platform where energy communities could interact, find experts, collaborate around projects, and track and share their progress.
When the Interreg NWE ECCO project came to an end, the responsibility for maintaining the platform was transferred to REScoop.eu. We looked for partners interested in having a platform to support the development of community energy projects and we adapted the original version to ensure that we can maintain it with existing resources.
After months of work, REScoop.eu has launched the current platform with the support of:
The Energy Community Platform is a live website that keeps on growing with new tools, resources, experts and energy communities. You too can join this community-led energy revolution! Join the community!