The Municipality of Badajoz and AGENEXL (Extremadura Energy Agency) recently signed an agreement establishing the promoting the creation of energy communities in the above mentioned city.
The agreement, signed by the Secretary General of Sustainable Development, Coordination and Water Planning, Víctor del Moral; the director of AGENEX, Lidia Calderón; and the Mayor of the Capital of Badajoz, Ignacio Gragera, will provide information and advice to the social and business fabric of Badajoz at the ppotential of these communities and its implementation.
AGENEX, through Extremadura’s Community Transformation Office (OTC), will organize dissemination days and training aimed at individuals, SMEs and governments, and will offer a support and guidance service during the creation and the first phases of the operation of energy communities. It will also be responsible for identifying potential sources of financing and will act as an intermediary with the municipality to promote new projects.
Last March, AGENEX created the Extremadura OTC as a physical and virtual space dedicated to encouraging the creation of energy communities places among Extremaduran municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants.
To this end, it offers free dissemination services, through courses, workshops and information days; guidance for those interested in the process of community building; and administrative, legal, economic and technical advice. In addition, this agency aims to establish a collaborative network consisting of the communities created for this purpose strengthen synergies between them.
The agreement with the Badajoz Municipal Council therefore complements the agreements already concluded with other cities, such as Almendralejo and Villanueva de la Serena. It is expected that the pact with the Plasencia City Council announced two months ago will also be signed soon. The intention is to expand this to more municipalities.
Let’s talk about energy communities
The Communities Energy They are legal entities based on the open and voluntary participation of their partners or members, who may be individuals, SMEs or local authorities. Its main purpose is to provide environmental benefitseconomically or socially, for its members or for the local areas where they operate.
The activities it can carry out are very diverse: from launching projects to generate, store or distribute energy to providing energy services. energy efficiency or electric mobility. Communities this way energetic They are a fundamental instrument, in addition to allowing their members or partners to reduce their bills, to achieve the democratization of energy, thus contributing to the achievement of the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Thanks to them, new local energy sources and services can be created at the disposal of citizens, investment opportunities can be generated or the competitiveness of local companies can be increased. Furthermore greater awareness is created and the decision-making power of citizens in the energy field.
Energy communities are here to stay because they are a way to help citizens save energy and money while promoting the implementation of innovative technologies promote energy efficiency.