Drive Energy Self-Consumption through the EKIOLA Initiative.
On January 24th took place The EKIOLA initiative meeting at Leartibai region in the Basque Country. This initiative has been identified as a best practice by the SIreNERGY Interreg Europe Project, and it was visited by the project partners during June. The EKIOLA initiative meeting was attended by eight municipality mayors (belonging to the SIreNERGY stakeholders’ group) and the two project partners from the Basque Country (Leartibai Fundazioa and the Basque Energy Entity (EVE), represented by EVE’s Director Iñigo Ansola. The purpose of this meeting was to analyze how to boost the citizen participation and involvement in the project, which is a major challenge to be addressed within the SIreNERGY project.
EKIOLA is the result of a public-private collaboration between the Basque Energy Entity and the engineering firm KREAN, which is integrated into the MONDRAGON Corporation. EKIOLA promotes self-sufficiency energy consumption through cooperatives where local residents themselves will participate in the generation and management of solar energy for their own supply through small solar parks. This project will generate energy for self-consumption for 650 families within a 25 km radius. The meeting encompassed various aspects, including defining the necessary steps for citizen involvement and outlining the role of local governments in fostering citizen participation. The cooperative structure includes partners such as municipalities, local organizations like schools, and consumer members, comprising families.
Concrete actions for socializing the project and attracting interested citizens were discussed, emphasizing the need for easily accessible information. To facilitate this, there was a consensus on establishing dedicated spaces where citizens can find help and information, receive assistance by telephone, and train local representatives in each municipality. These representatives, at the municipal level, will serve as informative contact points for citizens seeking details about the project.
At the meeting it was agreed that there would be a first open dissemination event aimed at informing the society (families, future partners) about the project. It is estimated that about 500 people might attend this first event. The conference has been agreed to be held next March 6th at the Markina-Xemein court wall. For the organization and dissemination of the event, the stakeholders (the 12 municipalities) will work on a joint communication plan. It is foreseen that this will be the first of many other dissemination events that will be organized in each of the municipalities of the region.
The collaborative efforts of the stakeholders underscore the commitment to making EKIOLA a successful model for citizen-driven energy initiatives, aligning with the overarching goals of the SIreNERGY project.