On February 6th and 7th, 2025, the DISCOVER project team met for the third in-person meeting, held at the Académie du Climat in the heart of Paris. The event was hosted by the Agence Parisienne du Climat (APC) and marked a crucial step for the project, signaling the transition from the analysis phase to the implementation phase. Following the meeting in Giulianova last June, this meeting provided the consortium with the opportunity to take stock of the situation and clearly define the goals to pursue in the coming months.
In particular, during the meeting, several of the most relevant actions for the next phase of the project were outlined. One of the major updates is the shift from the general guidebook, a common guide for all pilot countries, to the Specific Guidebook, which will have an adapted version for each country. This tool will become a key resource for the operators of the One Stop Shops (OSS), who will be the points of reference for stakeholders involved in Renewable Energy Community (REC) projects. The creation of the Specific Guidebook was a significant challenge, as, despite having a common structure, each pilot country is at a different level of advancement in the REC sector. This made the drafting process less immediate, but also highlighted the importance of a guide that takes local specificities into account. In addition to a physical version available at each OSS, the guide will also have an interactive and online version. Therefore, the meeting dedicated considerable time to defining the structure and functionalities of the platform that will host this tool.
At the same time, each pilot country presented the new advanced services it intends to develop or refine for the national context of each. Every pilot shared their ideas on which services are necessary to improve support for REC projects, but these need to be materialized or refined through a co-creation process with local stakeholders, which will take place through workshops. Once defined and co-created, the services will be included in the Specific Guidebook, making this guide a dynamic tool that responds to the concrete needs of each country.
Another key topic of the meeting was the establishment of the One Stop Shops (OSS), single points of contact that will offer support and consultancy to anyone wishing to start a REC project. Although the creation of these shops represents a more advanced phase of the project, the team has begun discussing how they can be implemented in the various pilot countries. The OSS, which can be either virtual or physical, will be a fundamental tool for simplifying and making the path to the establishment of energy communities accessible to all.
The meeting concluded with a great sense of satisfaction and enthusiasm. The DISCOVER project is finally taking shape, and the partners are working hard to make the process of creating RECs as simple and accessible as possible. Environmental sustainability, in fact, should not be seen as an obstacle, but as a necessity that must be supported and facilitated, not as a barrier or a waste of time.
The project has an ambitious goal, but the results achieved so far demonstrate that progress is being made toward a concrete objective. However, it is essential to constantly monitor progress and analyze results to ensure that the path being taken is leading to real and tangible change. The DISCOVER team is aware that the success of the project will depend on the ability to work together, aligning forces while taking into account the particularities of each national context. These differences will, in fact, be the true strength of the project, contributing to a final outcome that can be replicated and adapted to different realities.
Dates:
DISCOVER