20. 5. 2024
Last week, we showed the entirety of Europe that we are truly serious with community energy in the Czech Republic. From May 13 to 15, we co-hosted the largest conference on community energy in Europe, the European Energy Communities Forum 2024. Over the course of three days, more than 150 representatives of energy communities attended, and there was no shortage of presentations on Czech examples. The conference was opened by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, and the representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy, Achille Hannoset.
The welcome address was delivered by Heleen Schockaert, project manager of REScoop.eu, and David Blažek, coordinator of UKEN. He won over the audience with the following statement:
"It is a great honor for us to host the second year of this conference, and I am pleased that Prague will become the capital of community energy in Europe, at least for a few days."
The introductory speeches from both the national and European levels followed. The first speaker was the Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, whose department is the author of the amendment to the energy law for community energy.
"To rectify what previous governments have neglected, it is not enough to simply modernize our energy sector. We need a true energy revolution. And community energy, which we will launch in the coming months, is one of its main drivers. Modern electrical energy, which will require the measurement, processing, and storage of vast amounts of data, is a very complex system. Therefore, any change must be carried out systematically and thoughtfully, as any mistake can have very serious consequences for consumers. I am convinced that we have managed to maintain this responsible approach and that the launch of community energy will proceed according to plan."
Achille Hannoset from the European Commission praised the Czech Republic's approach to community energy and the amendment to the energy law. In his speech, he addressed all EU countries, emphasizing that member states should come up with their own proposals on how to support community energy and energy communities. He identified the main barriers to development as a lack of funding and the slow removal of administrative or other obstacles. One solution, according to him, could be the creation of one-stop shops, advisory centers where interested parties can obtain information about (among other things) community energy. In the Czech Republic, this role is partially fulfilled by EKIS and EnKo MAS centers.
The Czech Republic is not entirely behind in financing community energy projects, as noted by Vladimír Sochor, an external advisor to the Ministry of the Environment, in his Tuesday speech. Thanks to the "Establishing Energy Communities" call, the project preparation of dozens of emerging communities will be supported.
Many conference participants, including REScoop.eu Chairman Dirk Vansintjan, greatly appreciated this form of support. Energy communities in the Czech Republic will also be able to access support from the Modernization Fund's KOMUNERG program. According to our information, the State Environmental Fund is already working on this program.
Although the speeches by prominent national and European figures provided many interesting insights and food for thought, the main pillar of the conference was the thematically focused workshops. Conference participants could choose according to the topics and the "advancement" of their energy community. As organizers, we were pleased that even though we are only at the beginning of community energy, we could present many successful examples from the Czech Republic.
In the first workshop, moderated by Anna Michalčáková from UKEN, all participants reflected on the role energy communities can play in the transition to renewable energy sources. The goal was to explore possibilities and come up with ideas that need to be promoted in the current environment to support the development of community energy.
One of the speakers was Michal Svoboda from SMS ČR, who shared his experiences on how to convince local residents to get involved in a joint project.
"I don't persuade the locals by emphasizing ecology or economic benefits. Surprisingly, this is not that important to them, even though the Šluknov region is relatively poor. In practice, the argument that works best for me is 'we'll do it ourselves.' Show people that they can secure their own needs, do something for themselves and their community, and they will get involved."
In the Czech context, we often mention that energy communities will mainly emerge at the initiative of municipalities. This is not as common abroad, so we were pleased to welcome another representative from the Czech Republic to the stage – Miloslav Franěk, who introduced the functioning of the Prague Community for Renewable Resources (PSOE) to a primarily international audience. "The Prague Community for Renewable Energy Resources is a key pilot for the development of renewable energy sources in Prague and other Czech municipalities."
How community energy and electricity sharing will work in the Czech Republic was explained to the audience by lawyer Jan Bakule from Frank Bold.
"It was a pleasure to present how we have successfully managed to transpose community energy and electricity sharing into the energy law in the Czech Republic. Emerging communities from abroad, where full transposition is still missing, were interested in our experiences with advocating for the law and the technical details concerning sharing. In conversations with participants from Belgium, where sharing has already been implemented, it was interesting to find out that they are currently dealing with very similar startup obstacles in community energy as we are, here in the Czech Republic."
The development of legislation was presented by REScoop.eu lawyer Stavroula Pappa, and experiences with facilitating experiences and advocating for the interests of energy communities at the European level were shared with the audience by senior consultant Josh Roberts from REScoop.eu.
The workshops also focused on purely practical aspects. They demonstrated how to start an energy community, how to communicate with locals and motivate them to get involved in the project, and how to proceed if you want to produce and share heat and cooling within the community. There was also no shortage of discussions on renewable energy sources that are currently less utilized by communities, such as hydropower and biomass.
A significant portion of the program was dedicated to workshops focused on financing, which is a major stumbling block for many startup projects. If you are interested in this topic, a very similar workshop will take place online on June 25 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in English. You can register here.
We admit that the program was indeed very packed at times. Nevertheless, the feedback from participants was gratifying. They particularly appreciated the combination of lectures and practical workshops, which provided a larger and more enjoyable space for networking. The most frequently mentioned word was "inspiring."
"I was most impressed by meeting so many experts from across the EU. I had the opportunity to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the field of community energy with people who are leaders in the industry. I am taking away valuable insights and ideas that will help me in my work."
– Jan Kvapil, Product Manager at Domy sobě
Anna Michalčáková
+420 605 038 162
anna.michalcakova@uken.cz
