EUCENA – European Citizen Energy Academy

Citizen energy is a means for citizens to take climate action into their own hands. With the Clean Energy Package and the Electricity Directive, the EU has emphasised the significance of citizen energy for participation, innovation and inclusion. For the first time, EU legislation thus acknowledges the role of community energy ownership meeting its climate and energy objectives – while at the same time driving local innovation. In the long term, the Directive embraced the vision of an Energy Union, where citizens are enabled to become the driving force behind energy transition. 

The European Citizen Energy Academy supported the citizen energy movement throughout Europe. It did so by fostering knowledge creation and transfer between Southeast and Central Europe. More specifically, it provided knowledge and tools on community building, development and cooperation between communities. Best practice examples illustrate how to overcome the barriers for citizen energy.

The Academy organised workshops and coaching sessions primarily in Albania, Greece, and Germany. Furthermore, workshop and study tours take place in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two summer schools foster cooperation between citizens in Southeast Europe, where citizen energy is just developing, and well-established energy communities in Central Europe.

The project employed an inclusive approach, which involved citizens of different ages and genders as well as socio-economic and ethnic groups. It thus also contributes to overcoming energy and mobility poverty as well as gender inequality.

• Energy community as a driver for the local energy transition: CommonEn was the first energy community to be founded, registered and successfully developed in the Epirus region near the Greek-Albanian border. The community has 63 members, including low-energy households, and has now built two collective solar parks with a total capacity of around 200 kWp for the personal consumption of citizens, SMEs and vulnerable groups; one of these was implemented after the end of the project. The plants generate around 273,000 kWh of solar power annually and save around 108 tonnes of CO₂. In addition, CommonEn has established itself as a key player in energy democracy in Ioannina and is working strategically with the city administration, including setting up an energy poverty advice centre and planning the first urban agri-photovoltaic project in Greece.
• Awareness raising and reach: CommonEn raised awareness of the benefits of community renewable energy among more than 4,500 citizens as well as local institutions and organisations. Even after the end of the project, its reach continues to grow, among other things through new services such as demand response offers that support members in load-adjusted electricity consumption, as well as through increasing visibility as a best practice example in South-Eastern Europe.
• Economic viability: With around €159,000 in investment volume generated by members – about half of which came after the end of the project – the initiative demonstrates clear economic viability. The financial commitment of the members forms the basis for the further expansion of community energy projects and strengthens local value creation.
• Professionalisation and institutional strengthening of energy cooperatives: Thanks to the commitment of local communities and the support of EUCENA, several energy cooperatives have been able to professionalise their structures, not only in Greece but also in Germany. Energy cooperatives such as Friedensfördernde Energiegenossenschaft, Herford eG and Ilmtal eG hired paid employees for the first time. At the same time, a national umbrella organisation for energy communities was founded in Greece, which now represents over 4,000 citizens. These institutional advances ensure the long-term viability of civic energy initiatives and strengthen their political and social impact.
• More income, knowledge and climate protection in Albania: In southern Albania, the Piskova Solar Community was established with the support of EUCENA. Starting with a photovoltaic system installed to supply the municipal irrigation pump, a broad-based energy community has developed, now comprising over 50 farmers, two non-governmental organisations and the local administration. The system significantly reduces the energy costs for agricultural irrigation and serves as a pilot model for other villages in the region. In addition, training courses on solar energy, energy cooperatives and renewable business models were conducted, and a comprehensive curriculum on renewable energies was developed and tested for the first time at an Albanian university in 2025. This sustainably links climate protection, economic resilience and the development of local skills.