On the 19th of April 2023, the Deputy Mayor of the City of Krakow officially opened the conference introducing the series of workshops dedicated to developing energy communities called “Possibilities of creating energy communities in Krakow”.
The energy and climate crisis mobilizes residents, entrepreneurs, academia, as well as local government to search for new solutions, technical and organizational, in order to reduce energy consumption, reduce energy bills and, most importantly, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To provide the residents access to green and affordable energy, the City of Krakow is looking for solutions to carry out the energy transformation in a socially acceptable way. Facing such a challenge, it is necessary to involve diversified groups: energy consumers, energy producers, trading companies and distribution system operators.
During the opening conference, we talked about existing and planned energy communities in Poland. Invited guests exchanged their experiences related to, e.g. the energy clusters creation process, the use of heat pumps and energy storage in multi-family buildings, business models possible to implement. The conference was attended by residents, NGOs, CEOs of housing communities and cooperatives, Directors of municipal institutions as well as representatives of Ministries.
The series of workshops and meetings “Possibilities of creating energy communities in Krakow” is intended to create a real energy community in our city. Following the conference, 4 full-day workshops will be held, which will take the form of a case study.
- Workshop I – dedicated to the management of multi-family buildings,
- Workshop II – dedicated to residents interested in energy communities,
- Workshop III – dedicated to municipal companies and units,
- Workshop IV – dedicated to small entities, e.g. schools, cultural centers, social welfare homes.
In addition, registered participants will be able to obtain individual expert support in the process of implementing energy communities. The workshops will be followed by a report summarizing the series.
The task is carried out as part of the ATELIER project “AmsTErdam and BiLbao cItizen drivEn smaRt cities” and the LIFE-IP EkoMAŁOPOLSKA project “Implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Climate and Energy for the Voivodeship Lesser Poland.”
Author: Franciszek Kusiak, City of Krakow
Picture credits: Bogusław Świerzowski, Agata Świeczka