Solution Tested:

LOGREENER toolkit to guide local green energy transition

Why this pilot?

In Riba-roja de Túria, Valencia, Spain, the LOGREENER toolkit has been applied by the municipality with the support of the partner MUSOL, in collaboration with the lead partner FVMP.
Riba-roja de Túria was heavily affected by the 2024 DANA floods, and the purpose of the application of the toolkit in this associated receiver municipality had to be changed during the project implementation. Initially, the LOGREENER toolkit was supposed to be used in the framework of the municipality’s initiatives as a signatory of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. However, the 2024 DANA floods affected the municipality, and resources were diverted to the reconstruction process. This was both a challenge and an opportunity: a challenge because funding for local energy transition was redirected to other purposes, and an opportunity because the project could contribute to integrating energy transition into the post-DANA reconstruction process.
The LOGREENER project supported Riba-roja de Túria in identifying funding opportunities to include energy transition in the post-DANA reconstruction process, as well as in applying short-term energy-saving measures in municipal buildings.

What was done?

MUSOL worked with the municipality of Riba-roja de Túria to identify the specific neighbourhood or area where the toolkit could add value to planning a sustainable reconstruction that included the energy transition. A large municipal building was selected as the main focus of the intervention: the Municipal Cultural Centre and Auditorium of Riba-roja de Túria, which hosts the dance and music school and serves a high number of daily users.

The process of applying the toolkit involved several visits and meetings, as well as an intensive exchange of information regarding the building, its use, and related aspects. The process can be divided into three main parts.

First, the training of local stakeholders on funding the local energy transition within the framework of the post-DANA reconstruction process.

The second part consisted of the assessment and definition of the priority measures to be implemented at the Municipal Cultural Centre and Auditorium of Riba-roja de Túria.

These were:

the installation of a photovoltaic system to cover the building’s electricity consumption and reduce its demand from the power grid;

the replacement of the original windows to align them with the technical characteristics of those already installed;

the installation of thermostats in each classroom and the development of a participatory process involving all building users.

These measures were detailed in a ready-to-use funding plan proposal, drafted in collaboration with the municipality and formally delivered to it.

The third part stemmed from the priority measures identified. Thanks to budgetary savings, MUSOL was able to implement concrete measures supporting the energy transition in the municipal building, particularly those related to energy-saving habits and practices. Through two participatory workshops, building users identified specific practices regarding the use of the elevator and classrooms. These were illustrated in posters, which are now in the process of being displayed and disseminated by the municipality.

What are the results?

1. A project proposal for the installation of a photovoltaic system at the Municipal Cultural Centre and Auditorium of Riba-roja de Túria is ready and complete. It has been delivered to the Municipality, and the application has been adapted to the guidelines of a regional funding scheme. The municipality will be able to submit it as soon as the call for proposals opens.
2. A protocol, together with a set of posters describing recommended practices regarding the use of the elevator and classrooms to be adopted by users of the Municipal Cultural Centre, has been developed and delivered to the municipality for dissemination among building users.

What others can learn from this Pilot?

The main lesson drawn from this process is that the LOGREENER toolkit is a comprehensive and flexible collection of tools that can be easily adapted to the local context. However, this adaptation depends on the capacity of the toolkit users. The toolkit should not necessarily be used as a rigid step-by-step method that must be applied in full. Such complete application may make sense when starting the preparation of a SECAP or other local energy transition plans. Instead, the toolkit should be understood as an intuitive repository of tools from which a local authority can select the instruments needed for a specific process and context.

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