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Lectures Project DISCOVER Workshops Association Without Borders

Study visit to Rijeka and Krk - PET South East European Energy Transition Platform

Energy transition of cities, advanced technologies and citizen energy communities

In the organisation the Association Without Borders, the City of Rijeka, the Rijeka Development Agency Porin i the University of Rijeka - Centre for Smart and Sustainable Cities, we will host a delegation from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on a study trip to Krk and Rijeka. The aim is to exchange experiences on the energy transition of the region, but also to present realized / future projects from this domain.

The event and the visit were made possible by PET - Energy Transition Platform i the Heinrich - Böll Foundation, and about 25 participants are expected.

A rich program has been prepared that will be held on October 9, 2024 in the premises the Rijeka Development Agency Porin:

8:30-9:00 Registration of participants

9 a.m. – 10 a.m. "PORIN & City of Rijeka" Block

  • Welcome address of the representatives of the City of Rijeka (Nenad Antolović)
  • Presentation of PORIN and EU projects CEKOM (Emira Brkić Karinčić) - 20 min
  • Strategy Green Urban Renewal of the City of Rijeka (Ivana Grabovac) – 20 min
  • SINERGANA project (Iva Ribarić) – 20 min

10:00 - 10:40 UNIRI Block (Centre for Smart and Sustainable Cities + EDIH ADRIA)

  • EDIH and regional cooperation potentials (Damir Medved) – 20 min
    • What is EDIH and how do we work
    • Examples of how we have helped small municipalities and cities
  • New technologies that can help with the energy transition (Damir Medved) – 20 min
    • What is the BECKN protocol
    • Examples from practice

10.40 – 11.00 Refreshment break

11:00-12:00 Block "Without Borders & ECSJ"

  • LIFE DISCOVER project  – presentation of the project and results achieved so far (Davorka Medved) – 15 min
    • Energy transition in partner countries
    • Instructions for the operation of support centres for energy communities
    • Establishment of OSS on Drenova
  • Energy transition – energy communities, benefits of connectivity, new models of financing activities, opportunities and barriers (Damir Juričić) – 20 min
    • Social Energy Communities
    • the Civic Energy Community
    • ESG - Energy communities to support the achievement of objectives
  • Presentation of the ECSJ (Damir Juričić) – 10 min
  • Q&A – 15 min

12:00 – 12:30 PORIN and 3D platforms tour

We look forward to exchanging experiences and future cooperation!


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Announcements Association Without Borders Without Borders

Future of energy communities on islands

On Wednesday, October 2, in the town of Cres, Moise Palace, an international conference was held "The future of energy communities on islands“. The event was organised as part of the European project ISLET LIFE, which includes three pilot islands, Greece's Astypalea, Italy's Procida and Croatia's Cres, aims to design a model of renewable energy communities (provided for in the European Directive 2018/2001) that will be applicable on all small islands.

The conference brought together a wide range of experts in energy and energy policies, especially those dealing with citizen energy communities and encouraging the use of RES .

A round table was held and it was dedicated to the topic “Energy communities in Croatia: dream or reality?’, and they took part in it Kristina Celic the Ministry of Economy, Goran Čačić from the ZEZ and the Energy Communities Forum, Ugo Toić as a representative of the Cres energy cooperative Apsyrtides, Ivan Zoković from the island movement, Damir Medved the Association Without Borders the Northern Adriatic Energy Community, and Maja Bratko from the Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR). The round table was moderated by Franjo Toić from the town of Cres.

Damir Medved, as a representative and association Without Borders and the Northern Adriatic Energy Community he spoke about the experience and challenges that accompanied the whole process of establishing the ECSJ. This process is marked by numerous illogicalities, completely unnecessary financial and technical obstacles, and all this results in only 3 citizen energy communities currently operating in the Republic of Croatia and none of them is operational in the sense that their members can exchange energy.


The organisers of the whole event were the Town of Cres, the Island Development Agency (OTRA), the Island Movement and the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ).


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Discover project Project DISCOVER

DISCOVER presented at the conference of the ECOSTEAM project

On Friday, 27 September 2024, a conference of the ECOSTEAM project from the ERASMUS+ programme was held. The City of Rijeka, one of the project partners, has invited us to present the DISCOVER project to the conference participants.

The conference was followed in Rijeka by students and teachers of the Secondary School of Electrical Engineering and Computing who are themselves participants in this project. Objective of the project ECOSTEAM to bring European/global environmental policies, ways of managing water, waste, energy and transport in cities, data and tools in the service of combating climate change closer to secondary school students. High school students from Rijeka are involved in the energy project.

The topics of photovoltaic power plants and community energy projects dealt with by the DISCOVER project are significant for the activities carried out on the ECOSTEAM project.

The City of Rijeka supported the Association Without Borders with a letter of intent when applying the DISCOVER Project. Intensification of cooperation on the DISCOVER project is expected in the coming period.

After the presentation of the ECOSTEAM and DISCOVER project, through the Zoom platform, participants joined the international GREENREPORT conference held in Florence, Italy.

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Discover project Project DISCOVER

DISCOVER presented in Kastav

Kastav Smart City Conference was held last week in Kastav, as part of which we presented the DISCOVER project to citizens on September 24, 2024.

DISCOVER is entering its implementation phase, after the implementation documents have been prepared in the first part of the project, we are now starting with concrete activities in interested cities and municipalities. The first is Kastav, but the neighboring Opatija, Matulji and of course Rijeka, Delnice, Jelenja, Cres and all who show interest in this topic follow.

The Energy Community of the North Adriatic

Association Without Borders is a member of the North Adriatic Energy Community, which recently received a license from the regulatory agency HERA. Damir Juričić, President of the ECSJ presented the process of establishing an energy community.

Damir Medved explained the importance and technical aspects of data collection and process optimization in energy communities.

Citizens interested in investing in photovoltaic power plants also need to be informed about the topic of energy communities. By joining communities, they can exchange energy surpluses with neighbours, local governments and entrepreneurs.

The DISCOVER project was presented at the City Hall as part of the Kastav Smart City conference on September 24th

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Announcements Project DISCOVER Projects Association Without Borders Without Borders

At the Kastav Smart City conference, we will present the LIFE DISCOVER project

Conference Kastav Smart City It will soon be held for the third time. This year, the Association Without Borders will present to the participants of the conference DISCOVER project.

City of Kastav supported our application to the project DISCOVER It has also engaged in activities through implementation. Kastav is one of our important stakeholders in this project. The City Administration and the Mayor expressed great interest in the topic of civic energy and the establishment of energy communities. Through this project, we will empower interested drivers of energy communities by informing the local community, entrepreneurs and employees of local self-government units about the topic.

The conference will take place from 23 to 25 September 2024. The DISCOVER project will be presented on 24 September 2024 at 5 p.m. in Kastav City Hall:

UNIRI - Centre for Smart and Sustainable Cities

5 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. Energy transition – Energy communities, benefits of connectivity, new models of financing activities, opportunities and barriers

  • Social Energy Communities
  • the Civic Energy Community
  • Energy communities to support the achievement of ESG objectives

Presentation of the ECSJ (experiences and challenges of the establishment and operation of the first operational EC in Croatia)

  • How the Process Worked
  • what were the obstacles
  • where we are now
  • what are the next steps

Association Without Borders - LIFE Discover project

17:45 - 18:00 International LIFE project implemented in the PGC area at a glance

  • What is LIFE
  • What services will be provided to our customers
  • Perhaps some “signature” of the LIFE-City of Kastav cooperation agreement

18:00 – 18:15 New technologies that can help the energy transition

  • What is the BECKN protocol
  • Examples from practice and why we consider it necessary

18:15-18:30 Q&A

I'll see you!


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Announcements Lectures Project DISCOVER

DISCOVER project presented on Cres

Yesterday, in the Italian Community in Cres, a lecture was held for citizens on the topic of energy communities. Namely, the LIFE ISLET project, whose partners are the Island Movement and the City of Cres, aims to educate the local population and establish an energy community in our area in order to provide multiple benefits to the owners of solar power plants.

The lecture was opened by Dr. Ugo Toić with a short presentation of the LIFE ISLET project, and then by mr. Ivan Zoković from the Island Movement explained the differences between individual legal definitions of energy communities in Croatia and the EU. In addition, mrs. Davorka and mr. Damir Medved presented the DISCOVER project within which an energy community is established in Rijeka. We are sure that this topic will become very important and that in the future more and more islanders will become involved in energy communities.


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Discover project Workshops

DISCOVER project presented in the City of Kastav

On May 7, 2024, in the Business Incubator KASPI in Kastav, the first in a series of meetings was held with stakeholders from the City of Kastav, to which we presented the DISCOVER project. The City of Kastav is one of the stakeholders of the DISCOVER project, which is being implemented in several pilot regions, and the Association Without Borders is implementing it in Croatia. Through the project, we will provide the City of Kastav – a unit of local self-government, but also citizens, entrepreneurs and other interested parties with the necessary knowledge and information on the topic of Community Energy Projects (CEPs).

The basic information about the DISCOVER project was given by the project manager Davorka Medved. Damir Juričić presented the factors of financial sustainability of energy communities. Damir Medved explained the technical prerequisites for the work of energy communities as well as the technological capabilities of available platforms. Participants asked a number of questions about the topics presented.

Presentation of the DISCOVER project

The introductory meeting was full of information, so it was agreed to organize a continuation in which other interested parties from the City of Kastav will be involved.


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Announcements Expert texts

Citizens at the centre of the energy transition

CONTEXT

With its ambition and achievement of energy and climate goals, Croatia is lagging behind the leading countries of the European Union, which is confirmed by the latest revision of the European Commission's draft Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). 

Energy communities, which were introduced by the European Union in 2019 with directives as part of the package of measures, play a significant role in the transition to renewable energy. Pure energy for all inspired by the civic energy movement and energy cooperatives operating across Europe over the last few decades.

There is currently a gap in the transposition of the provisions of the directives in Croatia, which almost prevents the use of the potential of energy communities for the energy transition and the enjoyment of the rights of active participation in the energy market that Croatian citizens have as citizens of the European Union.

WHAT ARE ENERGY COMMUNITIES AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

Energy communities enable citizens, entrepreneurs and the public sector to invest in renewable energy projects and play an active role in the energy market. They represent an alternative to commercial energy companies and are characterized by open and voluntary participation (membership), direct ownership of citizens, cooperation with local small and medium-sized enterprises and with local self-government units and democratic governance. 

An important difference between commercial energy companies and energy communities is the commitment to socio-economic and environmental benefits for the community – these benefits are more important for the energy community than making a profit. 

Energy Communities:

  • enable citizens to be involved in decisions about their own energy production, use and prices, protecting them from crises;
  • contribute to increasing awareness and knowledge of more efficient energy use and change the behaviour and lifestyles of their members towards more sustainable ones;
  • contribute to the diversification of energy sources and the uptake of renewable sources in local communities;
  • work with social services to address energy poverty;
  • create local green jobs and contribute to long-term energy savings;
  • can bring two to eight times higher returns to the local economy than projects by external investors (research in France i Germany);
  • play an important role in fostering a stronger, healthier, more resilient and energy self-sufficient society;
  • can contribute to the financing of the energy transition – their capacity by 2030 is up to 240 billions euro.

STATE IN CROATIA

Although introduced into the Croatian legal framework by the Electricity Market Act and the Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration Act, energy communities are very difficult to come to life in practice. The process of establishing energy communities is complicated, and the imposed registration obligations represent insurmountable obstacles for groups of citizens who do not have the support of professional institutions and financial resources. 

From 2021, when energy communities were introduced into the Croatian legal framework, until spring 2024, only one citizens’ initiative managed to obtain a license to operate, with the support of several experts and the cost of significant financial and human resources. 

PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY COMMUNITIES AND CIVIL ENERGY IN CROATIA

The energy transition can only succeed in the cooperation of all actors, and citizens must be at its center, so all candidates participating in the elections for the Croatian Parliament and the European Parliament elections in 2024 are invited to commit to these four priorities so that energy communities and civic energy can quickly and effectively come to life in practice in Croatia.

  1. Make the process of registering energy communities simple and affordable for groups of citizens who are not (energy) experts and establish a support system in this process.
  2. Provide financial support to energy communities from available funds with the application of state aid rules in order to mitigate the riskiness of energy community projects and encourage their development and stable growth.
  3. Ensure that energy communities can easily reduce the electricity bill of their members by producing energy, share energy directly with members and conclude power purchase agreements directly with other market actors.
  4. Make cities and municipalities at the forefront of civic energy development by ensuring the involvement of citizens and energy communities in renewable energy projects in public areas and rooftops.

ENERGY TRANSMISSION MUST BE FAIR AND USEFUL FOR ALL CITIZENS

The energy transition implies significant changes in society that cannot be successfully achieved without the support and recognition of the role of citizens and local communities. One of the fresh examples is the significant rise in energy prices, which has led to a rise in the cost of living for citizens and a rise in

energy poverty. In Croatia, this jump is mitigated by the package of measures of the Government of the Republic of Croatia that subsidizes energy prices, but it is temporary and does not represent a systemic solution. An inclusive approach that starts with the needs of citizens and communities is how we can ensure a fairer transition and acceptance of change towards renewable energy sources

Renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, water or geothermal energy are available to everyone as common goods, and their use through energy community projects, for the purpose of meeting basic energy needs, guarantees that the energy produced and the benefits thereby obtained will be retained in our local communities. 

LISTS OF APPLICATIONS:

Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) over the last ten years, it has supported citizens and local communities in investing in renewables, energy efficiency and technologies that contribute to the decarbonisation of the energy system. ZEZ has implemented the first civic energy projects in Croatia and is a member of the European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives

REScoop.eu. – https://www.zez.coop/  

ZEZ Sun is a European energy cooperative that brings together citizens for joint, long-term and non-speculative investment in solar power plants to create positive social, environmental and economic values in their community. ZEZ Sunce is through its first call for members in March 2024.  raised EUR 140,000 for the construction of a 200 kW citizen-owned solar power plant. – https://www.zez.coop/zez-sunce/  

Croatian Energy Transition (HET) is an initiative and interactive online open access a platform that provides all interested stakeholders with an insight into the methodology of long-term planning of smart energy systems with the Republic of Croatia as a case study. – https://het.hr/

Apsyrtides Energy Cooperative operates in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago and brings together local self-government units, the business sector and citizens. The aim of the cooperative is to provide support and enable its members and the local community to participate in energy transition projects and to lead by example to other island communities. The cooperative is unique in Croatia in that there are members of two cities, Cres and Mali Lošinj.

Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR) is an association of experts engaged in the promotion of sustainable development in the field of energy. Our mission is to promote the principles of sustainable development in all segments of society, at local, regional and national level, primarily in the field of energy and climate, and we are actively working with local communities to become leaders of the energy transition. – https://www.door.hr/  

REGEA - North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency is an institution focused on providing advice and innovative solutions in the energy and environmental sector with projects throughout the European Union. – https://regea.org/  

Island Movement, information-educational platform which contains in one place all the information needed to initiate and participate in the energy transition on the Croatian islands with a special focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and the importance of the participation of islanders in the process of energy transition. – www.isoci.eu

Energy cooperative NOVI ISLAND KORČULA acts to help citizens in activities to increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources by implementing energy renovation projects, educating the population of all ages on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and environmental protection projects by prioritising "green" energy and sustainable development in cooperation with local institutions.

North Adriatic Energy Community is an association formed by 20 members (citizens, entrepreneurs and NGOs) with the aim of producing, sharing and smartly managing renewable energy consumption; https://ezsj.hr

Association Without Borders has been working for 12 years on the development of the local community in the Rijeka settlement of Drenova. He is the initiator and holder of numerous HR and EU projects, and among others has been working for years on the promotion of civic energy and sustainable development. Particularly noteworthy is the project of reconstruction of the Drenova Social Center, where numerous events and educations are held for the needs of the local population and entrepreneurs. He is currently a partner in the three-year LIFE DISCOVER project, where the One-Stop-Shop is being set up to support the establishment of energy communities in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. https://energija.bezgranica.hr. 

Greenpeace in Croatia – Greenpeace is an independent global environmental NGO. It has been operating in Croatia since 2012. – www.greenpeace.hr

Green Network of Activist Groups (ZMAG) is an association that brings together organic gardeners, practitioners of applicable technologies and ecological construction, permaculture designers, researchers of fair social models of organization and equal interpersonal relations, and environmental activists. – https://www.zmag.hr/  

My Energy Community - MEC is the first formally established energy community in Croatia. – https://www.myenergycommunity.hr/  


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Lectures

CALL FOR THE ROAD "Citizen (renewable) energy"

The Association Žmergo, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka, the Northern Adriatic Energy Community and the Association Without Borders invite everyone interested in the topic of renewable energy sources to a round table where relevant experts will talk about trends, actualities and potentials of renewable energy sources, the role of local self-government units, its accessibility to citizens, with a special emphasis on energy poverty and how we can eliminate (or reduce) it.


We're at an energy junction. A proactive approach to ensuring energy independence is more important than ever. The round table is an exceptional opportunity to hear experts with experience in this field who will present many of the research and opportunities provided by the launch of public-citizen projects, such as the local civic energy initiative led today by the Energy and Climate Office of the City of Križevci, the first of its kind in Croatia. Cooperation of cities and municipalities with associations and citizens is extremely important and possible, in order to successfully implement the transition to the benefit of the local community.

Guest speakers

  • M.Sc. Anamari Majdandžić, DOOR – Presentation of Centres for Combating Energy Poverty and Example of Cooperation with Good Practice from Križevci, as well as Solutions for Energy Independence in the EU and Croatia
  • M.Sc. Hrvoje Keko, Grid One d.o.o., Association My Energy Community – Services in the field of advanced networks and energy transition and modernization and optimization of energy infrastructure, connecting research organizations, energy startups and local communities.
  • dr.sc. Damir Juričić, Innerga d.o.o., North Adriatic Energy Community - Energy Independence through Civic Energy Initiatives in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Innovative Models of Organization and Financing of Energy Communities and the Impact of the Electricity Market Act on the Implementation of Civic Initiatives

Moderator:

  • M.Sc. Damir Medved, Director of the EDIH Adria project (University of Rijeka), Association Without Borders
  • Introductory Lecture - Energy Poverty in the EU and HR

The call for participation is open to all interested citizens without prior notice, and refreshments will be organized for those present.

The activity is organized by the Žmergo Association and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka as part of the Community-based action for a green transition (CO-GREEN) project, which is implemented with the financial support of the European Union within the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.

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Announcements Workshops

Second Meeting of the Assembly of the ECSJ Association Held

On Friday, 17 November 2023, the 2nd session of the EC SJ Assembly (online) was held and new members were received.

The agenda of the meeting was:

  1. Report on the process of establishing an association (Juričić);
  2. Admission of new members (Juričić, Medved)
  3. Plan of upcoming activities - HERA etc. (Juričić, Medved);
  4. Proposal of membership fee for 2024 (Juričić, Medved);
  5. Financial plan of the association (Juričić, Medved);
  6. Proposed logo of the association (Juričić);
  7. Pilot project in cooperation with Grid ONE – setting up a data collection system for the consumption of ECSJ members

Recording of the meeting

Minutes and documentation

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