The 10th meeting of the Thematic Group (TG) took place on 22 January 2020 in Brussels, Belgium with a focus on Smart Villages and Renewable Energy Communities.
The revised European Renewable Energy Directive requires Member States to take action to promote the development of Renewable Energy Communities (REC) through measures to be included in their national enabling frameworks to meet Europe’s targets for climate change.
There are many communities across Europe already doing this, and many others interested in seizing the opportunity. They are, therefore, an ideal vehicle for ‘Smart Villages’.
Aims of the meeting:
- To obtain an understanding of the opportunities in the new policy landscape for supporting creation and development of renewable energy communities in EU rural areas.
- To learn from existing grass roots initiatives and explore how to create the local conditions for these initiatives to emerge and grow.
- To discuss how Renewable Energy Communities and Smart Villages could benefit from each other and imagine how the future CAP Strategic Plans and Cohesion Policy could effectively support an energy transition in rural areas.
Background documents