Energy Communities Beyond Borders: Scalable Models from the Western Balkans

Emilia-Romagna Region and its development agency ART-ER are implementing the EU (DG REGIO)-funded project “Better Cohesion through Development of Energy Communities in the Western Balkans”, which supports the energy transition of five Western Balkan countries — Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia — by promoting energy communities as a practical driver for territorial cohesion, empowering citizens and local institutions to shape their own sustainable future.
The conference aims to explore the state of the art of community-driven renewable energy solutions in the Western Balkans through the voices of some of the communities supported by the project. The event focuses on the state of enabling institutional frameworks at national level, the increasing interest of local communities towards energy sharing, and innovative governance models. 

Program

Moderator:
Fabrizio Tollari, ART-ER

EU regional authorities supporting REC experiences as part of the pre-accession process in the Western Balkans
Veronica Lenzi, Regione Emilia-Romagna

Participatory and governance models of the Western Balkans RECs:
experiences and perspectives of projects funded under "Better Cohesion through Development of Energy Communities in the Western Balkans"
North Macedonia: Belica Renewable Energy Community (Association for Belica Community Development
Albania: Establishment of 5 Renewable Energy Communities in the Municipality of Permet (Environmental and Territorial Management Institute)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnia and Herzegovina Renewable Energy Community - BiHREC (Sarajevo Economic Regional Development Agency)
Montenegro: RECME2 (Enfidal)
Serbia: Medijana REC - Citizen Shared Energy (Platform for Energy Transition)  

Regulatory evolutions for RECs and investing opportunities in the energy sector in the Western Balkans
Mariam Darchia, Energy Community

Q&A and conclusions