Community Energy – Municipalities and local authorities: an ideal partner [French]

Local or regional governments have everything to gain from promoting the scale-up of community energy in their area, and they can initiate new projects themselves. However, despite the growing popularity of the concept across Europe, many cities are still struggling to move from ideas to action.

This document offers an overview of how local authorities in France can become part of the energy transition, and the levers available to become a community energy champion, whether you work for a municipality or wish to collaborate with one.

Firstly, it explains how to promote the concept of community energy to the council political majority and offers a set of arguments that can overcome a municipalities initial reluctance when you start working with them. The second part of the document explains a number of actions municipalities can take. These go from creating favourable regulations for citizen and community energy to buying power or heat from community projects or sharing municipal staff and resources. Moreover, it includes examples of initiatives from cities in France and other countries, and information on the current legal framework.

The brief has been created by Energy Cities based on the handbook Community Energy: A practical guide to reclaiming power, a go-to guide developed by Friends of the Earth Europe, REScoop.eu and Energy Cities, packed with instructions, practical tips and resources, to build a local, community-led renewable energy revolution in Europe.