Project News

One month ago, 7 EU-funded projects joined forces to organise their final event in Brussels, as a collaborative one. Their aim? Re-energise Europe, with speakers from the research and policy spectrum gathered in 7 panels over 2 days, to discuss community energy, energy efficiency, multiple benefits, women-led initiatives, energy behaviour and new trends of energy […]

In October 2023, the BECoop project came to a close, marking the end of a significant chapter. Although the project itself has a timeline, its mission to empower and educate various stakeholders about the potential of bioenergy communities continues, with its resources and knowledge repository remaining accessible online, ensuring that its legacy endures and continues […]

As you most probably have seen in the news, about a month ago in September 2023, the Region of Thessaly in Greece was hardly hit by climate change, with severe amounts of rain falling into a very short timeframe and many people hit by the events. We, at BECoop, know well the Region with our […]

The aim of this guide is to help you create a Renewable Energy Community (REC) in your area and contains information, practical tips and tools. However, it does not address in depth all the steps and aspects involved in the process of creating an REC, as this is not its purpose; it has a different […]

RE-energising Europe – Discussions, high-level panels, poster session and field visit organised by 7 EU-funded projects! Taking place in Brussels (Atelier 29) on 24-25 October, the event is bringing together speakers from EU institutions, project representatives and key players of the energy market. Key topics related to energy in Europe will be tackled including but […]

The BECoop team met in May in Bilbao and places nearby to discover together the Spanish pilot case, visits organised by the GOIENER team. We visited various places guided by experts in biomass, forest management, and energy communities. Town Hall of Zuia We started with the Town Hall of Zuia, where a local forest management […]

June 5 – Just Energy Toolbox: Boosting skills for an inclusive and sustainable energy transition – Presentations and recording available On 5 June 2023, as part of the EU Green Week which theme was “the European year of skills”, the BECoop, POWERPOOR and W4RES EU-funded projects presented toolkits and recommendations to support citizens and women […]

In case you missed them, BECoop organised the first semester of 2023 a series of 10 webinars to learn more on bioenergy communities, introduce and discuss key topics: Biomass Combustion Symbiosis and synergies The Becoop tools BECoop presents – District Heating, all you ever wanted to know! Biogas Plants – Operation and Design in terms […]

In March 2023, the BECoop team was led by Italian partners Fiper and SEV for a tour of Northern Italian initiatives for biomass use. What have they learnt? Follow them on this journey to learn about sustainable bioenergy communities in a short visual briefing and video! This briefing was prepared by the BECoop project team, […]

The Replication Handbook is a comprehensive guide designed to simplify the process of creating a community-based bioenergy project. Its purpose is to encourage readers to envision a sustainable and equitable local heating system for their community and to take concrete steps towards its implementation. Access Find more useful resources in our “External resources” section  

While the energy crisis impacts can still be felt across Europe with devastating consequences, emergency as well as long-lasting solutions are investigated. In a unique collaboration, 10 EU-funded projects have gathered to produce a comprehensive briefing including recommendations for various stakeholders, on how could renewable energy communities be a vehicle to mitigate the energy crisis […]

Willing to heat your home next winter through a (bio)energy community? Get support from BECoop to set it up! While bioenergy holds, in practice, the highest potential for replacing (imported) fossil fuelled heat and remains a leading technology in the EU renewable energy heating sector, there is a significantly untapped market uptake potential for it. […]

There is a need for unlocking and activating the underlying market potential of community bioenergy and that is exactly what BECoop aims to do, fostering a broad deployment of bioenergy heating technologies across Europe, by providing the necessary conditions and technical as well as business support tools for unlocking the underlying market potential of community […]

On 22 September 2022, BECoop organised, with the support of W4RES and eCREW as well as WECF, the online event “More women in renewables and energy communities: safeguarding an enabling policy framework”, as part of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) Extended Programme. The event gathered a group of expert panelists involved in energy transition, […]

Developed by CIRCE – Centro Tecnológico, this online repository gathers in a single place existing open-source tools useful for the energy communities and bioenergy sectors. The library allows project owners to identify them more easily, navigate through them and understand which ones best fit their needs. It supports developers and operators of community bioenergy and […]

This video explains concepts such as biomass / bioenergy, energy communities and introduces BECoop and its key actions to foster a broad deployment of bioenergy heating technologies across Europe and empower policy to transfer the community energy momentum to bioenergy heating. The video is available in Basque, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish and Spanish. […]

EU Sustainable Energy Week 2022 – September 22, 9.00-10.30, online Co-organised by Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) Equitable access to and control over sustainable energy services for all is an essential right. For the energy transition and EU Green Deal to be realised, they need to be inclusive and participatory. Everybody is talking […]

Brussels, May 2, 2022 – In a digital event gathering over 100 participants, 9 EU-funded projects showcased the tools they are providing to organise/plan/grow a community energy initiative. Energy communities have high potential for moving away from imported fossil fuels, and tools made for various market players, from citizens to technology providers, can support. It […]

Are you setting up an energy community? Would like to join one but don’t know where to find it or where to start? You are part of a community energy initiative and want to find tools to help you develop, manage and grow? You need to analyse potential business models and who are the stakeholders […]

To translate the needs and challenges of bioenergy communities into a local common vision and roadmap for RE heating, co-creation workshops were organised in our 4 pilot regions. We gathered  local communities to identify the bioenergy heating vision that they consider more appropriate for their needs and challenges, defined the activities to be covered by […]

BECoop tests the implementation of community bioenergy heating schemes in 4 complementary pilot cases with different characteristics, in Spain, Greece, Poland and Italy. In the previous issue of our newsletter, we shared news from our Polish partner. Here, some news from our pilots in Greece and Italy. Karditsa, Greece Our partner ESEK has been very […]

Energy independence is now at the top of the EU’s agenda. Almost all Europe’s biomass is already locally produced, contributing around 60% of the EU’s renewable energy. Marine Perrio at IEECP makes the case for promoting biomass prosumer projects. She points at regions dependent on biomass that have reported stable energy prices in the midst […]

Earlier studies realised by BECoop, a project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, showed that the knowledge and acceptance of biofuel varies from region to region in Europe, making it an untapped source of renewable energy compared to other sources such as solar or wind. To ensure bioenergy’s market expansion –with high potential for replacing […]

BECoop releases new reports and factsheets, presenting bioenergy heating technologies as well as business and financial aspects, guiding the bioenergy community stakeholders through complex decisions and minimising their project development efforts. What is the difference between direct / district heating? What do the installations look like? What are the different forms of solid biofuels, ways […]

While bioenergy holds, in practice, the highest potential for replacing fossil fuelled heat and remains a leading technology in the EU renewable energy heating sector, there is a significantly untapped market uptake potential for it. Several barriers prevent citizens from becoming (bio)energy producers and bioenergy projects to be more appealing, including a lack of preparedness […]

We are very happy to see the BECoop partner Energy Community of Karditsa SYN PE (ESEK) highlighted in the Greek media. This 5-min video , accessible to a non-Greek-speaking audience, presents the facilities of the Karditsa Energy community, producing solid biofuels from biomass. We hope that this example can be a seed that grows into […]

This report analyses the regional/national contexts of BECoop pilot areas (Spain, Greece, Poland, and Italy) as well as at the EU level, investigating the current framework conditions that could act as barrier or enabler for the uptake of community bioenergy heating. The synthesis of desk research and interviews reveals regional/national and EU-level factors (such as […]

Several workshops were organised in our pilot countries to further present the BECoop concept and objectives and get stakeholders’ views. In September, OBS held a meeting in Poland on the development of the energy potential of the local community to increase the use of biomass (renewable energy) in heating systems. The meeting  introduced the topic […]

BECoop, since the project started over a year ago, has at heart to engage with related initiatives and projects, to build on each other’s knowledge and resources. So far, a group of 13 projects has therefore emerged, also referred to as “sister projects”, which meet monthly to share results and draft potential collaboration ideas. One […]

This online repository of tools gathers in a single place existing open-source tools useful for the energy communities and bioenergy sectors. The library allows project owners to identify them more easily, navigate through them and understand which ones best fit their needs. It supports developers and operators of community bioenergy and heating projects with 4 […]

BECoop is glad to start a partnership with key projects working, like BECoop partners, on energy communities, renewables, raising awareness and providing solutions to policymakers. Compile, Come-RES, DECIDE, eCREW, Newcomers, RES4LIVE, W4RES, NRG2peers, Up-Stairs, RENergetic and RHC. Read all about them in the Related projects section of the website. Related Projects If you want to […]

The first BECoop newsletter reports on project findings, plans and events. Read about bioenergy potential, our pilot solutions in , , 󠁧and , the tools that we offer for cooperatives, and much more.

Participate in a Perception survey! BECoop finds it important to listen to the local perceptions of bioenergy communities of as many locals as possible. This is why, next to the local events, we created a survey to explore your opinions and experiences with community bioenergy. The findings will help us signal key factors and dimensions of […]

Are you part of a RESCOOP/ renewable energy cooperative?

Are you a local authority or policy maker?

We would love to hear your views on the potential for bioenergy market expansion!

Please take 4 min for this survey available in 7 languages, before May 1, 2021: German, English, Spanish, French, Polish, Italian and Greek.

Amsterdam, December 15, 2020 – In the updated Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), the EU clearly considers community energy as a key factor for future Renewable Energy (RE) market uptake and mandates Member States to implement regulatory frameworks for enabling and facilitating this process. At the same time, several barriers prevent citizens from becoming […]