Innovative Supporting schemes for community-Led Energy Transition (ISLET) aims at supporting the collaboration between public authorities, private investors, and citizens in order to develop renewable energy communities with an integrated approach to facilitate the emergence and growth of renewable community energy projects on Mediterranean small islands.
The project focuses on improving the technical structures and capabilities of local governments to reach their goals. The next step is fostering good communication and teamwork between local and national governments, along with active citizen participation. These are essential for making progress in reducing carbon emissions and achieving sustainability.
The ISLET Project’s Objectives are:
- To enhance the municipalities’ capacity to create a favourable environment for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) in small Mediterranean islands.
- To Increase the cooperation between local and regional authorities and citizens that want to create energy communities, by improving public participation and engagement in citizen-led initiatives.
- To empower local actors to collectively address energy transition targets through use of public resources.
- To help local authorities to provide support to citizen energy initiatives.
- To foster the dialogue among different actors involved in islands’ energy projects to create a supportive local policy framework for the development of renewable energy communities.
- To provide Mediterranean small islands with a model of a successfully process of CER creation.
- To train relevant actors and enhance their capacity in community energy development and citizen engagement in small islands.
- To improve the information of RECs and related national and EU laws among local authorities and representatives in small island, as well as among citizens.
- To Evaluate the contribution of citizens-led initiatives in Mediterranean islands decarbonisation.
- To Create a network of peer-to-peer support for Islands municipalities in providing support to their citizens for building RECs.
The project aims to:
- Create 7 RECs (3 in pilot islands (Italy, Greece and Croatia) and 4 in test islands (Italy, Croatia, Greece and Malta).
- Validate the REC model for small islands, after having tested it.
- Provide Guidelines and policy recommendations for RECs in small islands at EU level.
- Start the replication of the REC model in 30 replication islands.
- Train representatives and staff of at least 30 local authorities on the regulatory framework, funding possibilities and formal steps to take to build a REC.
- Assist 70 small islands local authorities improve their knowledge of RECs, participate in the peer-to-peer exchange among with local authorities of the pilot areas, and in coaching sessions.
- Involve 180 families in three pilot islands and four test islands.
- Engage at least 500 citizens in being Renewable Energy Community members in 7 islands.
- Sett up five help desks at EU level (at the selected consortium members premises) to support local authorities in the development of RECs also after the project end.
- Assess the local impact of the experience in building RECs in pilot islands.
Partners
Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, National Research Council (CNR-IIA)
Legambiente Nazionale – APS – Rete Associativa – Ente del Terzo
Athens University of Economics and Business – Research Center (AUEB)
DAFNI – Network of Sustainable Greek Islands
Malta Intelligent Energy Management Agency (MIEMA)
The ISLET project is co-funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.
