by Luis Ramirez Camargo, senior researcher at VUB Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Testing our approach in one of the first RENAISSANCE replication pilots in Vega de Valcarce, Spain. The team organised a workshop dedicated to the creation of energy communities and it took place on the 30th September and 1st of October 2021 . This was the result of a joint effort of the association Revieval, the H2020 projects RENAISSANCE and SCORE as well as local authorities. The meeting took place in a new venue dedicated to multipurpose events, especially addressing the need for local communities to gather, and was qualified as successful and very rewarding by organizers and participants.
source: Google maps
VUB’s MAMCA methodology and RENERGISE tool were presented, and neighbours together with the municipality and local companies discussed and evaluated multiple scenarios to develop a renewable energy community. Consensus was reached on making it a reality and RENAISSANCE will continue supporting this pilot towards implementation.
Energy Communities are meant to obtain economical and environmental benefits for their members, and this is where the RENAISSANCE approach can actually help, in particular the MAMCA methodology, which can ensure that all stakeholders’ needs are taken into considerations and that future scenarios and business models are weighted and developed accordingly. The day additionally included a dedicated session to discuss about valorization of the touristic and cultural resources and will be followed up by further events.
We highly appreciate the effort of the Cátedra de Territorios Sostenibles y Desarrollo Local, the Consejo del Bierzo. We would also like to thank other partners from RENAISSANCE and SCORE, BAX & Company (Mrs. Valentina Zea), Climate Alliance (Mrs. Marie Kleeschulte), and Europa Universität Viadrina (Prof. Jens Lowitzsch and Agnieszka Filipiak) for their contributions and participation.
This article is also published on ETIPSNET official Newsletter
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