One of the milestones achieved in the first year of this EU co-funded project under the LIFE programme.
The consortium recently met in Tartu, Estonia, to continue the implementation of 34 Energy Communities in Galicia and Estonia.
Vigo, 22 October 2024. One year after its launch, the EC4RURAL consortium has presented two innovative ad hoc calculation tools for analysing the viability of rural energy communities or any other community-based energy initiative. These tools, based on widely available software such as Microsoft Excel, aim to serve as valuable decision-making tools with economic relevance for managers of such community projects. These advances have been presented at industry forums, such as the recent “Energy Communities as Drivers of the Energy Transition” event organised by the Eu-Nets project in Vigo. They are also available free of charge on the EC4RURAL website (https://ec4rural.uvigo.gal).
The EC4RURAL project was launched a year ago with a budget of €1.6 million, co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme under the Clean Energy Transition sub-programme. Running for four years and involving ten partners from three countries, the project aims to transform the relationship between local and regional authorities and rural communities, contributing to the shift towards conscious consumption of clean energy and ensuring that rural areas are not left behind in this vital transition. It also aims to prevent energy poverty despite their resource wealth.
Over the next 48 months, EC4RURAL will work towards the creation of 34 Rural Energy Communities in Galicia (Spain) and Estonia to produce electricity through photovoltaic panels. The project is led by Professor Xavier Simón from the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Vigo, who is part of the CISPAC research centre, the Research Centre on Cultural Atlantic Landscapes.
The tools
The first year results include two tools for analysing the economic viability of community energy initiatives. The first tool is designed to provide a preliminary assessment of the economic impact of a community energy initiative. Based on selected hypotheses and user profiles, the calculation tool provides estimates and visually presents key concepts in a concise manner. The result is similar to an economic viability plan, a crucial element in the strategic planning of any project with economic implications, according to Xavier Simón. “This tool provides insight into the sustainability of a proposed community energy production initiative before it is undertaken and before resources are committed to finance the necessary investments,” explained Simón. Together with his team at EC4RURAL and the Galician Wind Energy Observatory, Simón has developed these resources.
The second tool complements the first and focuses on helping managers evaluate the performance of energy communities annually or over a period of time once the community is operational.
Balance of a working year in Estonia
After a year of work, EC4RURAL held its second face-to-face meeting a few weeks ago in Tartu, Estonia. This meeting allowed the ten partners to review the progress made since September 2023, discuss organisational matters and outline the next steps. Organised by the University of Tartu, the meeting was very productive, with constructive discussions on the milestones achieved. For Simón, this forum was a success in terms of debating EC4RURAL’s achievements and challenges, and it also “helped to contextualise the specificities of rural areas as diverse as Galicia and Estonia,” he noted. Consortium members agreed that the difficulties in developing energy communities in the two pilot areas require tailor-made solutions adapted to the social, political and economic context of each region.
The basis of EC4RURAL, an active citizenship
The University of Vigo leads the multidisciplinary EC4RURAL consortium, which includes nine other institutions from Spain, Belgium and Estonia. The Belgian-based European Leader Association for Rural Development (ELARD) is involved, along with the Estonian University of Tartu (UTARTU), the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities (AECM), the Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA) and the Estonian LEADER Union (ELU). From Spain, participants include the Federation of Galician Municipalities and Provinces (FEGAMP), Sapiens Energía cooperative (SAPIENS ENERGIA), Espazocoop Union of Galician cooperatives (ESPAZOCOOP) and the Juana de Vega Foundation (FJDV).
The 22 Galician municipalities involved cover an area of almost 2,700 hectares and have a population of almost 94,000. They include Mazaricos, Moeche, Ordes, Outes, Tordoia, Vedra and Vilasantar (A Coruña); Avión, Entrimo and Muíños (Ourense); Becerreá, Monterroso, Muras, Ourol, Palas de Rei, A Pobra do Brollón, Sober and O Valadouro (Lugo); O Rosal, Salvaterra de Miño, Silleda and Tomiño (Pontevedra).
In Estonia, the 12 participating municipalities have a population of more than 125,000 inhabitants and cover a total area of more than 9,000 hectares. They include Alutaguse, Elva, Hiiumaa, Järva, Lääne-Harju, Põltsamaa, Rõuge, Saku, Tori, Türi, Viimsi and Viru-Nigula.
