The local dimension: key to boost the energy transition in the Mediterranean

The Interreg MED Renewable Energy community has been sharing during the past three months the latest results of the project boosting the energy transition in rural and island areas in the Mediterranean.

Cynthia Echave - Project Coordinator in Euro-Mediterranean Economist Association – EMEA - presenting during the final event of the project in Brussels. — Cynthia Echave – Project Coordinator in Euro-Mediterranean Economist Association – EMEA – presenting during the final event of the project in Brussels.

The Renewable Energy community has participated in different forums during September, October and November 2022 highlighting the power of local communities and social innovation in boosting the energy transition. The project participated in the EU Sustainable Energy Week that took place in Brussels and online with a roundtable focusing on the energy transition in remote rural and island areas in the Mediterranean. The project was also present in the Energy Fair networking and exchanging knowledge and lessons learnt with other projects.

The community also took part in the European Week of Regions and Cities (EU Regions Week). The Interreg MED community organized an online webinar that delved into how social and territorial innovation can boost the energy transition in rural communities. Social innovation is key for the ETU Initiative, being one of the pillars of our manifesto. In October, the Renewable Energy community also co-organised an online webinar with the SMARTENERGY project on the role of EU clusters to boost the energy transition at the local level. Alexia Boulanger – Senior Specialist at Environment Park – represented the Renewable Energy community sharing how the ETU model can support the energy transition focusing on the local level.

In the last month of the project, the Renewable Energy Community, in collaboration with the partnership of the PRISMI PLUS project, organized a webinar to discover the PRISMI toolkit. This webinar untapped one of the key tools that integrate the ETU Toolbox. Attendees were able to discover first-hand the different applications of the PRISMI toolkit, in different kinds of territories of the Mediterranean area – especially, islands and urban and rural territories. The toolkit can support local authorities from the evaluation of the RES potential of their territories, to the realisation of sustainable energy plans such as SECAP and CETA

The final event of the project wrapped up six years of work to boost the energy transition in rural and island areas in the Mediterranean. The event took place in Brussels and was an opportunity to share the results of the project and the lessons learned from the past six years. The final event brought together different stakeholders from EU Commission to local authorities representatives to share their perspectives.

The event focused on the challenges and opportunities for the energy transition in the Mediterranean and the role of local authorities and citizens in the transition. The ETU Flagship Cases highlighted the key role that the ETU has played supporting them to develop and implement their energy transition plans.