Facilitating cooperation among energy communities

About the call

Energy communities and cooperatives are enshrined in EU legislation, but in practice face the same challenges in every country: complex permitting procedures, lack of technical and legal expertise, difficulties accessing financing, and weak cooperation with grid operators. Over 8,000 community energy initiatives are active across Europe, but most do not move beyond basic solar projects. The call budget is €7 million.

Objectives

To develop cooperation between energy communities so that they can professionalise and move into more complex areas - collective heat supply, energy storage, flexibility.

What is funded

• Setting up and strengthening networks and federations of energy communities.
• Shared services and tools for communities - technical, legal, financial.
• Transferring experience from mature cooperatives to new ones.
• Preparation of standard legal and financial models.
• Engagement with regulators and distribution system operators.
• Building capacity at national level.
• Diversifying communities' activities beyond solar generation.

Who it suits

An ideal call for civil-society organisations already working in community energy, as well as for national and European federations of energy cooperatives.

Conditions

• Call budget: €7 million
• Co-financing rate: 95%
• Consortium: at least 3 applicants from 3 different countries.

Deadline

16 September 2026, 17:00 CEST