Although both citizen energy cooperatives and local authorities have been front-runners of the energy transition, there are still many obstacles when it comes to fully unlocking a 100% community-led renewable energy transition. Due to different internal and external factors many municipalities do not yet give priority to clean community energy. As a result they lag behind when it comes to developing renewable infrastructure, capacities, and support. On the other hand, the community approach is not always valued by citizens, especially in the regions LIFE LOOP is targeting. There is therefore an urgent need to raise awareness of the benefits of community energy and build capacity to enable new initiatives.

The LIFE LOOP community energy accreditation scheme is the first ever scheme that acknowledges municipalities demonstrating foresightedness in energy community matters. It is free of charge for local authorities and has been designed to require as little time as possible for local authority representatives participating in it. In its first edition, the scheme will be running from April until November 2024.

This scheme is for those municipalities who want to show their commitment to empower and speed up the creation of or partnership with energy communities in its area, no matter whether they are beginners or advanced.

Find out more about the project here: LIFE LOOP - Local Ownership Of Power - Energy Cities (energy-cities.eu)