PROJECT 2024

WE PRESENT THE SIX WINNING INITIATIVES OF THE FIRST EDITION OF INCLUSIVEC

The InclusiveEC Awards Gala was held on Friday, November 15, 2024. Our thanks to all those who made it possible. Thank you Giuseppe Pellegrini and Gabriele Quinti for joining us from ACCTING on this special day and for your words of encouragement to continue promoting inclusive community energy. Thanks to Marta Costa, who shared all the details about the inspiring EPIU Getafe Project to build healthy homes and fight energy poverty. Thanks to the Jury for their involvement: Rosario Alcantarilla, Rosa Fraga, Cristina Alonso, Soledad Montero, and Alfonso García; all experts in the fields of energy, sustainability, social and solidarity economy, and social justice. Thanks to Lasgaya, especially Vanessa Álvarez, without whose dedication and passion this project would not have been possible.

Thanks to TRIPLE Ferraz space, associated with La Corriente, for hosting us.

🥇 1st Prize CE Arroyo Alumbra

Arroyomolinos de León, Huelva

A cooperative focused on fighting rural depopulation. It offers ongoing training to its members and in educational centers, generating synergies with the AMPA and the adult education school. It integrates a gender perspective in all its processes without falling into paternalism.

The €2,500 prize will be used to acquire necessary materials for the energy efficiency courses taught at the adult school and the CEIP; as well as to hire external specialists for the ongoing training of CE members.

🥈 2nd Prize CE Catarroja

Catarroja, Valencia

A cooperative with deep roots in the social fabric. It stands out for its extensive network work, which offers them greater possibilities for growth and sustainability over time.

The €1000 will be used to integrate vulnerable people into the CE and give them access to part of the shared photovoltaic installation.

🥈 2nd Prize CE La Tonenca

Tona, Barcelona

A cooperative with strong synergies with other entities, including the direct involvement of social services. It trains its members in topics related to inclusivity, such as inclusive communication and gender perspective, or the legal and social context of energy poverty.

The €1000 prize will be used for the operational costs of the photovoltaic plant, such as insurance or maintenance; and to cover part of the training of the social base.

🥉 3rd Prize CE Eco Almócita

Almócita, Almería

A cooperative with the participation of the City Council. They define their principles as sustainability, resilience, and rural empowerment. They promote an equal distribution, avoiding paternalism or discrimination among their participants.

The €500 prize will be used to cover part of the costs of a software for managing the production and consumption of the members.

🥉 3rd Prize CE Joyarancón

Santa Ana la Real, Huelva

A cooperative focused on fighting rural depopulation. It has the direct involvement of the City Council. Despite having a higher participation of men, the positions are egalitarian.

The €500 prize will be used for an energy efficiency improvement program for elderly women, including entry into the CE, home intervention, advice on habits and bills, and the creation of an economic fund.

🥉 3rd Prize CE La Bordeta

La Bordeta neighborhood, Barcelona

A cooperative that includes both individuals and entities from the social and solidarity economy, with a strong gender and intersectional perspective studied and applied. They work on raising awareness of energy efficiency among their participants.

The €500 prize will be used to create a financing fund that combines donations, solidarity contributions, and grants for access to the CE.

⚡ Congratulations to all the participating Energy Communities for your work and projects, for putting people at the center and driving real change in your environment. You are an inspiration!

You can watch the recording of the Gala here. Hit play! 👇 InclusiveEC Awards Gala

Non-profit environmental association with 80 participants, from A Illa de Arousa, in Pontevedra.   

Founded in 2020, it was the result of a citizen participatory process within the “Clean Energy for EU Islands” framework. It has the participation of the City Council and institutions of the economic and social fabric of the municipality. It has a collective photovoltaic installation (Mar&Luz.1) and a double charging point already in operation.   

It contemplates from its origin the participation of vulnerable people and the gender perspective, including a Plan to combat energy poverty. They organize training and dissemination activities aimed especially at youth and the gender perspective in the energy field. They are in the process of debate and improvement of the actions adopted, with a view to the next pilot “Mar&Luz.2”.  

https://www.arousaentransicion.gal/ 

Founded in 2022 in a small rural town, they are committed to community projects as a rooting exercise to avoid population loss and improve energy autonomy, especially for older people and other vulnerable profiles.

Its activity focuses on two areas: teaching and intervention. The training, on awareness and energy empowerment, will be for both associates and students at the adult education center and the municipality’s early childhood and primary education center. The intervention will focus on vulnerable homes with energy audits, small improvement actions and participation in collective self-consumption.

https://arroyoalumbra.my.canva.site/

Non-profit consumer cooperative with 177 participants, from Balenyà, in Barcelona.

Founded in 2022, from the beginning it has had a vocation for social inclusion in collaboration with the social services of the City Council. Participating in a call, it was selected and has funds for the development of the project. It participates in international cooperation, usually in Senegal.

Currently, they want to focus on involving people who, although vulnerable, do not have access to a social voucher. To do this, they will create a fund that replaces the mandatory contribution in these cases, accessing as cooperative members on equal terms.

https://www.balenyasostenible.cat/

Non-profit energy cooperative with 80 participants, from Catarroja, in Valencia.

Founded in 2022, it arises from the neighborhood initiative after a municipal information day around the CELs. In addition to individual participation, its members include a teaching cooperative and another dedicated to training and designing sustainability plans, which provides a large technical component within the Community.

Its objective is to collaborate with the City Council and with non-governmental entities, to integrate the consumption of vulnerable families into collective self-consumption, offer training and carry out personalized audits for each home.

http://catarrojarenovable.org

Non-profit cooperative society with 33 participants, from Almócita, in Almería.

Founded in 2022, as a result of citizens and a City Council involved in the sustainability, resilience and development of rural areas.

The mandatory contribution is decided to be minimized, to ensure the possibility of any family participating. Municipal and social entities transmit information on cases at risk of energy poverty, to assess their inclusion in the community.

To ensure economic viability in the hands of growth in the generation of renewables, they want to hire a specialized service for demand management and the sizing of quotas and extensions.

Association with 13 participants, from the San Jerónimo neighborhood, in Seville.

Founded in 2023, following a training course in CE received by members of a collaborative housing cooperative. It has a learning community supported by the School of Social Economy, and in contact with the rest of the CEs that emerged from the initial training.

Currently, they are working on the transfer of municipal roofs and want to allocate the funds to training for socio-labor integration actions associated with collective photovoltaic installations.

Cooperative with 27 participants, from Santa Ana la Real, in Seville.

Founded in 2024 following information sessions organised by the City Council, which already has a collective photovoltaic installation. They address the demographic challenge from cooperation and mutual learning, betting on a fair and inclusive energy transition.

Their current focus is on older people and the challenges they face, such as the degree of energy vulnerability derived from old and inefficient housing, linked to limited economic resources. In collaboration with municipal social services, these profiles could be incorporated into the CE for support in evaluation and intervention.

Consumer cooperative with 40 participants from the La Bordeta neighborhood in Barcelona.

Founded in 2022 within a high neighborhood organization and with the participation of agents of the Social Economy, in a neighborhood with lower income and greater risk of exclusion than the average in the city.

They want to design a financing mechanism that can offer access to the EC and basic supply through self-consumption without initial outlay, without endangering the economic sustainability of the cooperative.

http://comunitatbordeta.batec.coop