What is the Energy Community Platform?
The Energy Community Platform is a one-stop solution for everything about community energy.
There are many useful tools and resources on the internet to help citizens set up an energy community. But they are scattered across many different websites. Following the work done by Munster Technological University a few years ago, REScoop.eu, the European federation of citizen energy cooperatives, teamed up with several EU projects to make things easier for you and compile all resources in one single place: the Energy Community Platform.
Now you don’t need to jump from one website to another looking for support to develop your community energy project. At the Energy Community Platform you can get all the support you need.
Don’t know what an energy community is?
Energy communities are a business model where citizens jointly own and democratically control an enterprise that works on renewable energy or energy efficiency projects. Energy communities distinguish themselves from traditional energy providers by the way they do business. They put environmental, economic or social community benefits over profit.
This model has many benefits for the energy system and society.
Do you want to learn more about community energy and its advantages before jumping into the development of your own project? Check out the website of REScoop.eu, the European federation of citizen energy cooperatives.
What can I find on the platform?
- Tools and resources. We have gathered a broad collection of resources and tools in one place to help you develop your community energy project at any development stage. The resources have been tagged to help you make the most out of it and find the resource that can address better your specific need. Most of the resources have been developed by EU funded projects or other energy communities and are free to use. The collection is alive and we keep adding new ones when we find them relevant. Would you like to include a resource in the catalogue? Share it with us using this form.
- Maturity test. This unique feature of the Energy Community Platform allows energy communities to self-assess their development stage. After answering 21 questions, they receive a result and some indications to assess their strengths and weaknesses and help them move forward. The test also allows the Energy Community Platform to offer resources tailored to each development stage. This test is based on research work carried out by the Compile project.
- Community energy map. This map features energy communities across Europe to inspire others and facilitate exchange and collaborations between energy communities across borders.
- Experts network. Our experts network can offer professional support to energy communities that have not been able to move forward by themselves or need additional support.
The story of the Energy Community Platform
The origin
This 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.
Partnering up
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.
The platform
In summer 2022, REScoop.eu launched the current platform with the support of the Interreg NWE ECCO project, COME RES project, Compile project, clothes retailer Patagonia and SCCALE 203050 project. This is a live website that keeps growing with new tools, resources, experts and energy communities.
Do you want to contribute to the platform?
If you know about any resource that you think would be useful to support the development of community energy projects, don’t hesitate to share it with us using this form. We will be happy to include it in the resource collection!
If you are a member of an energy community and you want to add it to the community energy map to interact with other communities or platform members, you can do that from your user profile.
Are you an expert on community energy and you would like to be featured on our experts network? You can also submit your expert profile from your user profile.
