Mobilising EU citizens to invest in sustainable energy

by REScoop.eu / Organiser profile

Date and time

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Location

Museum of Natural Sciences
Vautier Street 29
1000 Brussels
Belgium

REScoop MECISE

Event Information

Description

REScoop.eu is the European federation for renewable energy cooperatives. We are a growing network of 1500 European energy cooperatives and their 1.000.000 citizens. Through REScoop.eu, they heard their voices heard in the European energy debate. Citizens after all who are paying for the transition to a more sustainable energy system. REScoop.eu empowers them and wants to achieve energy democracy.

With the energy co-ops Ecopower, Courant d\’Air, Enercoop, Energy4All and Som Energia, we participated in REScoop MECISE, a project under the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission that linked renewable energy projects to energy efficiency and fostered collaborations with cities and municipalities.

In this international conference we will highlight the main project results and showcase how local stakeholders such as cities, municipalities and citizens can team up to advance renewables and energy efficiency in their communities. We will be presenting two innovative financing models that can mobilize citizens from across Europe to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Programme

09:00-09:30 ǀ Registration
09:30-10:00 ǀ Welcome & introduction

Welcome
Dörthe Fouquet, EREF (DE)
REScoop.eu – European federation of renewable energy cooperatives
Dirk Vansintjan, REScoop.eu (BE)
REScoop MECISE – Mobilising EU citizens to invest in a sustainable energy
Karel Derveaux, Ecopower (BE)

10:00-11:00 ǀ The REScoop-municipality approach

Amel & Büllingen – A project jointly owned by coops and municipalities
Achim Langer, Courant d’Air (BE)
Friedhelm Wirtz, Mayor of the municipality of Büllingen (BE)
Eeklo – District heating in the city of Eeklo
Jan De Pauw, Ecopower (BE)
Ben Caussyn, City of Eeklo (BE)
Legal aspects of joint development and ownership
Annelies Verlinden, DLA Piper (BE)

11:00-11:30 ǀ Coffee break

11:30-12:30 ǀ REScoop financing solutions

Generation kWh – A cooperative and innovative financing model in Spain
Nuri Palmada, Som Energia (ES)
REScoop MECISE SCE – Mutual for Energy Communities Investing in a Sustainable Europe
Karel Derveaux, Ecopower (BE)
Daan Creupelandt, REScoop.eu (BE)
Maëlle Guillou, Enercoop (FR)

12:30-14:00 ǀ Networking lunch

14.00-14:45 ǀ Renewables triggering investments in sustainable energy

Linking renewables to energy efficiency to make them economically viable
Karel Derveaux, Ecopower (BE)
Exemplary cases from across Europe
Dirk Vansintjan, REScoop.eu (BE)
Mark Luntley, Energy4All (UK)

14:45 – 15:30 ǀ REScoops taking action on energy efficiency

EE projects developed by Courant d’Air
Mario Heukemes, Courant d’Air (BE)
Ecotraject, a model to support citizens in making energy retrofits in private homes
Fiene Biesbrouck, Ecopower (BE)
Members of Ecopower (BE) us.

15:30 – 16:00 ǀ Coffee break

16:00 – 17:30 ǀ EU funding opportunities relevant to energy cooperatives
Kamila Paquel, EASME (PL)

Panel Discussion – What role for citizen investments in Europe‘s energy transition?
Moderator: Josh Roberts, REScoop.eu (US)
Dirk Vansintjan, REScoop.eu (BE)
Alix Bolle, Energy Cities (FR)
Matthieu Ballu, DG Energy (FR)
Florent Marcellesi, MEP Group of the Greens/
European Free Alliance (ES)

17:30 – 18:00 ǀ Final conclusions
Josh Roberts, REScoop.eu (US)
Simone Peters, Bundesverbandes
Erneuerbare Energie (DE)

18:00 ǀ New year\’s reception with EREF, European Renewable Energies Federation