Guidelines on community-led heating and cooling

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The neighbourhood approach: All for One!

In the neighbourhood approach, your energy community starts small with a group of motivated neighbours, and collectively makes plans. This input can range from decision making in a general assembly, to concrete expertise in working groups and as board members. It then continues to move from an initiative into a collectively-owned company (like a cooperative) that can attract financing and organises the professionalism to manage the CH&C installation. Throughout the process, the energy community builds up social acceptance for the H&C plans as it involves local citizens in the ownership of the installation from the beginning. The aim of this process is that all interests and concerns are addressed from the start.

The neighbourhood approach can take longer to develop, but its results are long-lasting as the energy community goes beyond renewable heat production, and re-invests in the local needs identified by its members.

 

Example

The Dutch local initiative “50 shades of Green” grew to a significant number of members in a short period of time. They started with kitchen table meetings, not only to talk about energy, but anything that people were concerned, happy, or frustrated about. They grew to an initiative that covers all kind of sustainability projects for the neighbourhood. Once they reached a strong following, they moved to bigger projects. They are now in the early stage of development for a community-owned district heating and cooling network in their street.