GABROVO, BULGARIA – The CEATY project, a climate and energy education initiative led by SOFENA (Sofia Energy Agency), was showcased at the recent “Mayors Speak. Let’s Unite Efforts in the Fight Against Climate Change” conference held in Gabrovo on July 3rd and 4th, 2024. Organized by the Association of Bulgarian Energy Agencies (ABEA), the conference provided a platform for SOFENA to highlight the project’s ambitious goals and innovative approach to empowering young people as “Clean Energy Ambassadors.”
CEATY, funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission, aims to contribute to the EU’s ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The project focuses on educating students aged 12 to 16 about energy consumption, energy savings, and renewable energy sources, fostering environmental awareness and equipping them to become advocates for sustainable practices.
Lilly Stammler, chief expert at SOFENA, presented the CEATY project to the ABEA members and conference participants, emphasizing its potential to inspire and educate future generations in the fight against climate change. By providing young people with the knowledge and skills to become Clean Energy Ambassadors, CEATY aims to create a ripple effect, extending its impact beyond the classroom and fostering a wider cultural shift towards sustainability.
The presentation generated significant interest among attendees, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts and innovative educational initiatives like CEATY in achieving the EU’s climate goals and building a greener future for all.
A LIFE-BECKON project meeting was held in the city of Ávila, Spain, on May 30 and 31, 2024, where were presented the ready tools for promoting the establishment of energy communities in the three pilot countries – Spain, Bulgaria and Denmark.
In addition to the Handbook of good practices in the field of energy communities, training materials are also ready in the form of videos intended for municipal employees, citizens and local businesses.
All is uploaded to an online platform called “One-stop-shop”, which is accessible at: https://app.community.nectios.com/life-beckon , but after pre-registration and setting up of an account.
In the meeting a representative of CINEA who is responsible for the project also took part. He presented new funding opportunities under the LIFE program. There is currently an open call for project proposals in 6 directions, which is valid until 19/09/2024. For more information: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life/life-calls-proposals-2024_en
Several trainings are coming up in the partner countries of the project, and for Bulgaria a training is planned for 07/04/2024 in the town of Gabrovo.
Among the Bulgarian municipalities – replicators under the LIFE-BECKON project are Kotel, Sapareva Banya, Ruse and Sofia. They participated actively in the first online training organized on 27.05.2024.
The recruitment phase for municipalities willing to join continues!
You can write to us at: taobeckon@sofena.com
The third international meeting of De-Risk project took place
on 18 and 19 April 2024, in the city of Murcia, Spain,
Within the framework of the project, 4 pilots will be implemented, one in Turkey and one in Ireland, and two in Spain, including the cities of Murcia and Barcelona.
The installation of smart devices for measuring energy consumption, as well as the inclusion of renewable energy sources in the Spanish pilots ends and begins the actual phase of implementation of the activities set out in the project.
Analyzes regarding legislation, measures and opportunities for the development of flexibility market services in the partner countries are also in their final phase.
The development of working business models for similar services, monitoring of the pilots, and analysis of the obtained results is coming in the next months.
Roadmaps for the development of flexibility market services in 10 European countries will also be developed, covering also the EU policies in this direction.
KRANJ, SLOVENIA – Partners from the CEATY project, an Erasmus+ initiative focused on promoting clean energy and climate action, recently gathered in Kranj, Slovenia, for their third transnational meeting. Hosted by LEAG (Local Energy Agency of Gorenjska) on March 27-28, 2024, the meeting brought together representatives from Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Turkey to discuss key project milestones and plan upcoming activities.
Currently, the CEATY partners are finalizing the translation of project materials into various languages, ensuring wider accessibility and reach. Preparations for the national dissemination days are also underway, promising exciting opportunities to showcase the project’s achievements and promote clean energy education across Europe.
With its collaborative spirit and commitment to innovation, the CEATY project continues to make significant strides in empowering young people and educators to become active participants in creating a sustainable future.
LIFE-BECKON Lunch webinar , 13 February 2024, 14:00-15:00 CET
Energy communities are community-driven energy initiatives that contribute to a decentralised, flexible and sustainable energy system. Many energy agencies and public authorities aim to assist the citizen-led energy projects in development and operation, but struggle to provide structured and accessible support mechanisms. So-called ‘Technical Assistance Offices’ (TAO) are instruments that are popping up in several European cities, regions and energy agencies with this specific objective. Here, energy communities in all phases of development can receive professional support and access to a like-minded community. The LIFE-BECKON project focuses on the set-up of TAOs and experiments with different set-ups in its three pilot sites in Bulgaria, Denmark and Spain.
This lunchtime webinar will demonstrate how the LIFE-BECKON project contributes to empowering local and regional authorities and energy agencies in supporting local energy initiatives and communities. It displays how the concept of a TAO comes to life in Sofia’s Energy Agency and what the project-own Cookbook offers to public authorities willing to boost energy communities.
Agenda
14:00 Welcome Andrea Carosi, Climate Alliance
14:05 What is to gain from participating in the call for replication? Andrea Carosi, Climate Alliance, Q&A
14:20 LIFE-BECKON’s Cookbook for Energy Communities – Offers and how it will support energy agencies and public authorities Asier Larretxea, WeGlobal, Q&A
14:40 The TAO for energy communities in Sofia – An example of how an energy agency empowers public authorities and energy communities Nadya Nikolova, Sofia Energy Agency, Q&A
14:55 Closing Andrea Carosi, Climate Alliance
Registration is open.
International conference, 01.02.2024 | Online, 13:00 – 14:00 CET
Energy communities are community-driven energy initiatives that contribute to a decentralised, flexible and sustainable energy system. Many local authorities aim to assist the citizen-led energy projects in development and operation, but struggle to provide structured and accessible support mechanisms. So-called ‘Technical Assistance Offices’ (TAO) are instruments that are popping up in several European towns and cities with this specific objective. Here, energy communities in all phases of development can receive professional support and access to a like-minded community. The LIFE-BECKON project focuses on the set-up of TAOs and experiments with different set-ups in its three pilot sites in Bulgaria, Denmark and Spain.
This lunchtime event will demonstrate how the LIFE-BECKON project contributes to empowering local authorities in supporting local energy initiatives and communities. It displays how the concept of a TAO comes to life in Copenhagen and what the project-own One-Stop-Shop (OSS) offers to municipalities willing to boost energy communities.
LIFE-BECKON is currently running an open call to promote energy communities. The goal is to enable local authorities to set up TAOs and to familiarise them with the concept of energy communities, empower them to create spaces for such citizen-centred energy projects and support them.
Learn more
