Bonn (WWEA) – During its Annual Strategy Meeting, the IRENA Coalition for Action took the key decisions for its activities in the year 2021. As an important part of the coalition, the Community Energy Working Group adopted its work programme 2021 already one week earlier. Stefan Gsänger, WWEA Secretary General, Krisztina Andre from the German community energy alliance Bündnis Bürgerenergie, and Shota Furuya, ISEP Japan, were elected as co-chairs of the group. Stefan Gsänger: “I am honoured to be re-elected as co-chair of the community energy working group. Also thanks to our work in the group, the active role of citizens and communities is increasingly recognised by international organisations and governments as a key element of a successful strategy to transform our energy systems. I am pleased to say that the IRENA Community Energy Working Group is playing an important role in spreading this crucial message and building a comprehensive knowledge base about community energy.”
The Community Energy Working Group was created in 2017, following an initiative by WWEA and other organisations, and has today more than 40 member organisations from around the globe. The group focusses on renewable energy systems owned, controlled and operated by local citizens and communities. Communities – both as consumers and producers of renewable energy – have a key role to play in the energy transformation as the shift continues from centralised to decentralised energy production and social participation increases. In this context, the group refers to community energy as defined by local ownership, local control as well as local distribution of benefits and profit.
Building on its white papers Community Energy: Broadening the ownership of renewables and Stimulating Investment in Community Energy, the Working Group will publish in 2021 a white paper with case studies on best practices in community energy. The Working Group will also resume its work on data gathering on community energy, with the ultimate objective of developing a global database on community energy.