EU officials look at Belgium as an example for cooperative energy projects, as the 28-country bloc looks to de-carbonise and gain more energy independence.

European Commission and energy experts met in Brussels last week for EU Sustainable Energy Week, as the EU’s relationship with Russia continued to look strained over Ukraine.

The EU’s conflict with its largest supplier of natural gas has brought energy dependence to the top of the bloc’s agenda. Even under normal conditions, importing fuel comes at a cost. The European Commission estimates that the EU spent €1 billion per day last year on energy imports.

However, in Belgium, and many towns and villages, particularly in northern Europe, residents are taking energy production into their own hands, setting up investment projects in which anyone can become a shareholder.

“This is an opportunity for citizens. Production [of energy] comes to close to them,” said Dirk Vansintjan at a conference on decentralised energy systems. Vansintjan coordinates Ecopower, a Belgian renewable energy cooperative.

The cooperative, which is partially funded by the European Union, attempts to stimulate citizen investment in renewable energy, allowing anyone to buy shares and therefore become a member of a project.

At last count the cooperative had almost 37,000 members, owned 11 wind turbines, three hydropower installations, one biomass installation and 270 solar panel installations.

It is one of more than 2400 renewable energy cooperatives, REScoops, dotted around Europe.

“We see great potential in this kind of model. It fosters acceptability,” said Adrien Bullier, who works in the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME).

COP21 in Paris

The citizens engaging in REScoops are, at least in part, motivated by a desire to mitigate climate change, attempting to be “ethical citizens”, as Vansintjan puts it, producing their own low-carbon energy.

The European Commission has recently proposed a series of climate and energy goals for the year 2030, which include a 40% cut in carbon emissions, compared to 1990s levels and a 27% target for renewables.

Brussels has also set out a roadmap to curb EU emissions by 80 to 95% by 2050.

“The European Commission is indeed positive towards community energy, in particular as such initiatives usually rely on renewable energy and therefore help to achieve our RES (renewable energy sources) and GHG (greenhouse gas) targets”, said Sabine Berger, spokesperson for the EU energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger.

Next year, the world’s governments meet in Paris for the UN COP21 conference, with the aim of achieving a legally binding agreement on climate. The goal of the conference is to reach an agreement to curb carbon emission levels so as to avoid a global temperature rise of two degrees celsius.

“Community power needs to be recognised as a key strategy for climate change, as well as economic, social and local development,” said Josh Roberts, an environmental lawyer at ClientEarth.

However, citizens can face regulatory or financial hurdles when launching cooperative projects, with rules differing across EU countries. The energy markets also tend to be dominated by a few large and established players.

“Renewable energy projects can be financed, but in certain countries it’s easier than others,” Vansintjan said.