“Solar community garden” – The first community-led agrivoltaic project in Greece and North Macedonia
Keywords: citizen energy, climate protection, resource conservation, environmental technology, capacity building, networking, energy community, knowledge transfer, Agri-PV
Subject and goals of the project
In its energy strategy (2020), North Macedonia was the first country in the Balkans to commit to completely phasing out coal and lignite by 2040 at the latest, but is still struggling with serious environmental problems. The Macedonian government has taken recent steps as part of the Energy Development Strategy 2040 to create better conditions for supporting community energy and prosumerism, but some legal steps for a consistent legal framework are still lacking.
In Greece, on the other hand, a legal regulation for the establishment of energy communities was introduced in 2018. On this legal basis, it is possible to promote private investment in renewable energies and energy efficiency and at the same time increase public acceptance of renewable energy projects in order to stimulate a socially just and inclusive energy transition.
Through the cooperation of Greek and North Macedonian partners, this project aims to make a significant contribution to the transfer of knowledge and the establishment of participatory, democratic community energy models in the Balkans.
Specifically, the first energy community is to be established in the small Greek town of Ioannina, which will also operate as an agricultural production cooperative with agri-PV and combine two business models: the co-production of solar energy and food. Due to the favourable administrative conditions for citizen energy in Greece, this part of the project focuses on the most comprehensive, smart and effective technical and organizational implementation of Agri-PV.
In North Macedonia, on the other hand, the project aims to gather the positive findings from Ioannina and apply them as specifically as possible to the situation in the country due to the more difficult framework conditions. For future exemplary implementations in North Macedonia, useful indications for the adaptive change of the legal and organizational framework conditions are to be provided and introduced into the discourse with professional, social and political stakeholders.
In this respect, further sustainability-related sub-goals of this project are the further development of the energy democracy movement in the Balkan region, the strengthening of cooperation between different interest groups, the promotion of acceptance and landscape multifunctionality as well as help for (energy-)weak households through the provision of generated products and energy.
Innovation and exemplary nature of the project
The development of a scalable, replicable and economically sustainable business model for community-managed agri-PV systems (approx. 10 kWp) is an innovation in the region and can be made visible nationally and internationally as a best practice example of combined solar energy and food production through community energy models. The combination of PV power generation with agricultural production on the land represents a win-win situation between the two value-adding and ecologically relevant land uses.
Special aspects of the project
The project aims to increase public acceptance of decentralized renewable energies, promote and accelerate a socially just and inclusive energy transition supported by private investment. In addition to the production of clean, renewable energy, energy saving and increasing energy efficiency, it deals with a variety of related issues, such as the connection of electromobility, including agricultural machinery, as well as aspects of awareness raising and capacity building through the interlinked cooperation between the actors from Northern Greece and North Macedonia.
Funding theme 6: Renewable energy, energy saving and efficiency
Project Implementation:
- ELECTRA ENERGY, Ilioupolis, Greece
- CommonEn – Limited Liability Cooperative, Ioannina, Greece
- Association for Sustainable Social and Economic Development SUNRISE – Skopje (ASSED SUNRISE), Skopje, North Macedonia
Places of work: Germany, Greece, North Macedonia
Funding period: September 2023 to March 2026
Project costs: Total volume: 123,240 euros, funding from DBU: 61,620 euros
DBU-AZ: 38789
Status: 29.02.2024
Images: CommonEn Energy Community