Advancing Simple and Smart Energy Communities in Eastern Europe

ongoing

The SHAREs+ project aims to advance citizen-led energy initiatives in five European countries by leveraging frontrunner expertise, proven tools, and functional technical platforms. Building on the success of the SHAREs National Gateways, the project seeks to replicate this model in new geographical areas while enhancing it for additional use cases. The project aspires the launch of new 13 energy communities, while supporting 50 existing ones by engaging them as Gateway users, fostering greater renewable energy integration, enhanced energy efficiency, and optimized energy management in Southeast Europe. The project focuses on Cyprus, Romania, North Macedonia, and Ukraine, integrating decision-making support tools to drive collective action growth. Bulgaria acts as both a pioneer in developing an energy community framework and a pilot site for citizens-led thermal renewable project and vulnerable consumer engagement. Austria serves as the primary capacity-building partner. The conceptual framework of SHAREs+ is based on four key dimensions: • INTEGRATE: needs-based tools into the platform to support both established and emerging initiatives. • ENHANCE: capacity of public and private actors to implement EU policies on collective action within local contexts. • LEARN: through scalable networks of strategic partners to facilitate ongoing knowledge exchange. • EMPOWER: stakeholders and replication actors to drive broader adoption and impact. SHAREs+ will deliver localized technical support, tailored resources, expert-guided analysis, legal Q&A catalogues and financial databases, and communication templates to promote collective actions. Through collaborative policy development in National Citizen Energy Forums, the Gateway will expand to address energy vulnerability, targeted business models, and innovative funding opportunities. The project also ensures communication and sustainability through multimedia dissemination campaign.