Community involvement is key – the LocalRES consortium meets in Brussels!

The LocalRES Consortium gathered in Brussels this 16 and 17 of November for its 6th project meeting to discuss challenges, lessons learnt and next steps.

The meeting was joined by prospective new members as well as other projects working on and with energy communities, such as ACCEPT, CLUE, LIGHTNESS, RENergetic and SCCALE 20 30 50. This opened the floor for engaging discussions on strategies for effective community engagement, empowerment, inclusivity and how to face local opposition.

We heard from our demo sites: their challenges, benchmarks and plans. Their resilience, capacity to adapt and engagement to their citizens are keys to the advancement of the project.

During a workshop on lessons learnt and challenges towards replication of LocalRES’ solutions, it was found involving citizens in the decision making process was the most effective way to engage the community, with creating a sense of ownership being close behind. The best way to communicate outcomes is through meetings and workshops.

The meeting closed with a General Assembly to chart a course for the following months – we’re looking forward to meeting again in April 2024 to share and reconvene!