GRETA

GRETA is paving the way to active energy citizenship within the EU’s energy communities, to accelerate the energy transition. We are a research project funded by the European Commission from 2021 to 2023.

GRETA studies the social side of the energy transition. We want to understand how energy citizenship works in different contexts and geographical levels. What kind of knowledge, social structures, access to technology and financial resources are needed to make an active energy citizen?

From 2021 to 2023, we will be working with energy communities in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. We create community decarbonization pathways based on collaborative roadmaps for behavioural change. Our findings will help European-wide policymakers encourage active citizen participation in the energy transition.


ENCLUDE

The overall vision of the Horizon 2020 project Energy Citizens for Inclusive Decarbonization (ENCLUDE) is to help the EU to fulfill its promise of a just and inclusive decarbonization pathway through sharing and co-creating new knowledge and practices that maximize the number and diversity of citizens who are willing and able to contribute to the energy transition.

In the transformation of the energy system, citizens are becoming increasingly important as engaged, involved and shaping participants. This role of participatory energy consumers is reflected in the term "energy citizen". ENCLUDE aims to share new knowledge and motivate the broadest possible population to contribute to the energy transition.


DIALOGUES

DIALOGUES central methodological pillar is grounded in tested inter and transdisciplinary techniques, with a spotlight on open innovation and co-design of the research process.

Therefore, DIALOGUES will support the objectives of the Energy Union with operational research on the overarching topic of "energy citizenship" that enables citizens' central role in the uptake of low-carbon energy solutions and links all four strategic prioritites: decarbonising buildings, renewables uptake, energy storage, and sustainable mobility.

To reach this global objective, the practical objective of DIALOGUES is to operationalise, contextualize, measure, and support the framework environments, policies and institutions that allow deep, inclusive energy citizenship to emerge.


EC2

Gathering insights from the fields of law, economics and psychology, EC² will provide answers on how to facilitate and strengthen energy citizenship. Knowledge co-creation with municipalities, energy communities and citizens will enhance the research to deliver recommendations that support the EU’s energy and decarbonisation goals.

The project will develop a clear conceptualisation of energy citizenship, and gather actionable insights into the optimal conditions for it to flourish. It places a special focus on the role of energy communities and how their set-up can help – or hinder – the creation of energy citizens.