The work – aimed at getting regional and local public authorities to work better together – is part of COOPENERGY - a project co-funded by the EU’s Intelligent Energy Europe Programme.
The project has published two online resources for public authorities:
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A database of 60 case studies to showcase how regional and local authorities are already collaborating effectively on sustainable energy plans and initiatives across Europe. UK examples include a case study on how Kent partners are working together to deliver energy improvements in people’s homes (through the Kent & Medway Green Deal Partnership, now known as the Kent & Medway Sustainable Energy Partnership); and
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An online guidebook to help regional and local public authorities set-up their own collaborative approaches to energy planning.
Paul Crick, Director of Environment, Planning and Enforcement at Kent County Council, said: “Sustainable Energy Action Plans at a regional and local level are often developed in isolation from each other. This can lead to duplication, wasted resources and missed opportunities to save time, money and minimise negative impacts.
“COOPENERGY is addressing this by helping regional-level public authorities share knowledge and work with local authorities in their area to develop and deliver sustainable energy action plans in partnership. Learning from the project will improve how we deliver the Kent Environment Strategy and maximise on the benefits that a joint approach can achieve”
By signing up to the www.COOPENERGY.eu website collaboration platform, local authorities can make the most of this opportunity by accessing further energy planning resources, the latest COOPENERGY project newsletters, and participate in an online discussion forum to discuss planning for sustainable energy with other regional authorities and councils from across Europe.
The online resource includes material on:
• Developing sustainable energy action plans
• Implementing joint financial mechanisms
• Implementing modelling/monitoring/planning tools
• Engaging stakeholders in energy plans
• Energy efficiency
• Renewable energy production
• Greenhouse gas reduction
• Climate adaptation
• Sustainable transport and mobility
The COOPENERGY project is a 3-year project (2013-2016), co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the European Union and involving 12 partners from across Europe: European Federation of Agencies and regions for Energy and the Environment (FEDARENE); Energy Agency of the Zlin Region (EAZK), Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes (RCRA), Rhônalpénergie-Environnement (RAEE), HESPUL, Metropolitan Region Rhine-Neckar GmbH (MRN), Regional Energy Agency of Liguria (ARELIG), Bocconi University - Centre for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and policy (UBIEFE), Malopolska Agency for Energy and Environmental Management (MAES), Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Regional Energy Agency of Norrbotten (NENET), Kent County Council (KCC).
The database of 60 case studies were selected from over 150 submissions to a European survey conducted by the COOPENERY project in summer 2013, who contacted 254 public authorities in all EU28 member states and 115 regional energy agencies, to request the best examples and models of collaboration from across Europe. The case studies are available at: http://www.coopenergy.eu/good-practice-resources.
The guidebook for public authorities on ‘multi-level governance’ will be published in two phases. Public authorities are invited to feedback on this initial version of the guidebook to shape the final version due for publication in 2015. The guidebook and feedback survey can be accessed at: http://www.coopenergy.eu/mlg.
More information on the COOPENERGY project is available on the project website: http://www.coopenergy.eu/
