vision. network. impact.

The LIFE EnerGISE (Energy communities Effective Guidance, Advise, Innovative Support and Stimulation) aims to streamline and promote the process of establishing and developing energy communities in Central Europe (CE). A follow-up objective of the project is to accumulate, develop and contextualize all the current know-how in the field of establishment and development of such communities at the European level and to apply it effectively in the CE area. The know-how in the form of a user-friendly database will split into four key dimensions: Legislative, Technical, Financial and Socio-Economic. The key knowledge allocated in these dimensions will be applied in the form of specific services to be provided to energy communities at different stages of their preparation/development within newly established one-stop-shops (OSS) in 5 CE countries with low accessibility of know-how and good practice examples. The feedback from the provision of these services, i.e. the level of interest of energy communities and their assessment of the service relevance and quality, will be used to update both the services and the know-how database. The key findings from the real engagement with energy communities through the OSS centres will be subsequently disseminated and replicated at European level in an updated form, in addition to national and regional levels. The main tools for this dissemination and replication will involve: training and consultation events (workshops and conferences); fact sheets with structured descriptions highlighting best practices; case studies; and, finally, policy recommendations for European, national and regional institutions resulting from the project analytical part such as mapping barriers. The OSS network will be expanded to include other partners interested in leveraging the project tools as early as in the final part of the project, after pilot testing of all the tools. The project consortium is composed of 9 partners, 2 affiliated and 1 associated partner from 7 countries and is led by BeePartner from the Czech Republic. Planned key achievements Knowledge database as a primary OSS resource (4 dimensions: Legislative, Technical, Financial, Socio-economic) Setup of 5 pilot one-stop shops (OSS) in CZ, PL, SK, SL and HU facilitating creation and development of energy communities through tailored services Information Tools (fact sheets, good practices, frequenty asked questions related to energy communities) Capacity-building workshops, trained experts, contribution to ENERCOM related events, final conference Replication beyond 5 pilot OSS at the last stage Report on persisting barriers to ENERCOM setup or development For more information and regular updates please visit: https://life.beepartner.cz/  

The LIFE EnerGISE project has been launched with two main events. On the 16th of September, the online kick-off meeting took place with 81 participants, not only from the project consortium but also from wider stakeholder groups. In the online kick-off meeting, the objectives and workplan of the project was presented, with a few guest presenters from the EU Commission, CINEA and the Czechia’s Ministry of the Environment. On the 22nd and 23rd of September, an in-person consortium meeting was held in Ostrava, Czechia. This meeting focused on the project knowledge-database design, setup of one-stop shops in five project countries and other tasks planned in the project. The LIFE EnerGISE Project aims to streamline and promote the process of establishing and developing energy communities in Central Europe. To do this, so-called online One-Stop-Shops will be established by national partners in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. A follow-up objective of the project is to accumulate, develop and contextualize all the current know-how in the field of establishment and development of such communities at the European level and to apply it effectively in the Central Europe area. That is where eclareon steps in with its expertise collected EU-wide and leads the project’s Work Package on Sustainability, Replication and Exploitation. Read more about this 3-year-long EU-funded project on its official website.

eclareon is pleased to announce the release of Community Engagement and Fair Benefit Sharing of Renewable Energy Projects report, a study commissioned by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and finalised in late April 2025. Drawing on research from 11 on-the-ground wind and solar case studies within Europe, the report examines how early, accessible, and continuous dialogue with residents can accelerate the energy transition while ensuring local communities share fairly in its rewards. The report also provides a detailed overview of the community engagement and benefit-sharing schemes currently in place for renewable energy projects in five EU member states. eclareon in close cooperation with CAN Europe has identified 14 + 1 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that project developers, policy makers, and NGOs can now use to gauge the quality of community engagement, and the proportionality of benefits delivered. These metrics span financial compensation, ownership stakes, job creation, discounted electricity, biodiversity measures, and upgrades to public services—tools that convert potential conflict into lasting support for renewables. While some EU Member States already legislate community rights, practices remain patchy. The report therefore sets out clear guidelines, provides actionable recommendations and showcases best-in-class examples where robust engagement turned opposition into partnership. For more details, download the report and explore the KPI checklist and interactive case-study map on the website of CAN Europe.