Within the European initiative Citizen-led renovation (CLR), a support service has been launched with the aim of empowering existing and future energy communities and enabling citizens to take a leading role in energy renovation projects for buildings. The initiative supports projects that promote energy efficiency through measures such as thermal insulation, installation of new technical systems, and the use of renewable energy sources.

As part of this European initiative, support has been provided to four pilot projects in Ireland, Portugal, Belgium and Bulgaria, helping them overcome financial, legal, technical and informational barriers in order to implement sustainable residential energy renovation projects. In addition, further activities will be carried out by providing tailored support to selected pilots as well as to organisations involved as “Learners” and “Followers”. This support includes one-on-one consultations, webinars, workshops, peer-to-peer learning between projects, and events aimed at strengthening local capacities and replicating successful energy renovation models.

As part of the project, a series of interviews and publications titled “Inspiring Cases” has been produced, presenting examples of successful initiatives from various European cities and communities. Among the selected projects is the Croatian project crOss renoHome, which has been recognised as a good practice example in the field of citizen-led energy renovation.

Alongside crOss renoHome, projects from cities and communities such as Odense, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Cáceres, Bucharest, Alsómocsolád and Ghent are also presented. Each of these initiatives offers a different approach to involving citizens and local communities in the energy transition.

More detailed information about each project, including interviews and publications, is available at the following link.