Regional and local energy agencies are the implementation drivers of the energy transition, supporting a locally rooted approach that benefits citizens and strengthens the EU’s energy independence.
Loïc Cobut, Diana Bosfy, Juliana Nadalutti, and Anna Soressi – FEDARENE.
(Note: Opinions in the articles are of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union)
The last decade has seen increased integration of local actors as key stakeholders of transition processes. This comes as little surprise, as the Paris Agreement better includes sub-national actors like cities, regions, municipalities, and civil society groups in climate governance [4]. The rationale behind this evolution is that a more bottom-up approach to climate governance complements state actions.
At the same time, the European Union has developed a set of climate and energy policies to meet global climate objectives. In practice, local and regional authorities (LRAs) play a decisive role in implementing climate and energy policies. These policies rely on LRAs to identify both problems and solutions in their specific context [11]. About 70% of energy and climate policies require implementation by local and regional actors, who are also capable of meeting digitalisation and challenges related to social inequalities [1].
LRAs are not only passive implementers of these policies. They are also proactive actors in the energy transition. LRAs have set ambitious climate and energy goals, often surpassing the required targets, through initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and the mission on ‘100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030’ [10].
In this context, regional and local energy agencies play a specific role. They are well-positioned to deal with the complexity of these changes. These agencies provide technical expertise, project facilitation, and hands-on support. They are non-profit organisations with a public mandate to help authorities, businesses, and citizens implement energy and climate programmes. Their technology-neutral and non-commercial approach ensures that the focus remains on societal benefit rather than profit.
These agencies are increasingly present in many territories, with more than 300 of them already established across Europe. When they are present, they bring new dynamics to local energy governance. They bring energy expertise that helps municipalities overcome socio-technical controversies. They enable municipalities and regions to create a new network of actors locally, by recognising the value of citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and renewable energy communities (RECs) in advancing the energy transition. Municipalities and regions that have such energy agencies benefit from the support of national and European networks, which can share best practices and capacity-building services. Regional and local energy agencies increasingly work with RECs. More than twenty of them currently manage a one-stop shop (OSS) for energy communities, offering support at every step of the life cycle of RECs. As such, these agencies help overcome the challenge of social acceptance by supporting the emergence and development of RECs. Indeed, RECs are recognised for their capacity to increase the social acceptance of renewable energy sources [3] [12].
In this article, we show the benefits that these agencies have on the ground. We demonstrate that in a world of resistance to the energy transition, it is still possible to make the local and regional levels a place where the energy transition advances and provides citizens with decarbonised and secure energy, namely through RECs. In the first section, we refer to the OCTOPUS project to show how these agencies may change regional and local energy governance by opening governance and making it more horizontal and more inclusive of local climate and energy stakeholders. In the second section, we show that these agencies help RECs to diversify their activities by supporting citizen-led renovation (CLR), the establishment of RECs in industrial parks, and by bringing expertise to remote areas such as small islands. In the third section, we show that these agencies build trust with citizens, thereby reinforcing their presence and power in the energy transition.
The OCTOPUS project aims to accelerate the clean energy transition by empowering LRAs to develop and implement innovative energy solutions. This project is based on the concept of Enabling Organisational Networks (EONs), which are collaborative frameworks designed to accelerate the implementation of sustainable energy and climate action plans (SECAPs) by fostering cooperation among key regional and local stakeholders. Each EON is tailored to its region’s unique challenges and opportunities. With pilots in five countries (France, Czechia, Cyprus, Poland, and Spain), this project shows that these EONs act as hubs for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and the development of actionable strategies.
EONs are designed to foster collaboration through a mix of innovative actions, including webinars, workshops, bilateral meetings, and experimental projects. By leveraging the expertise and networks of OCTOPUS partners, these EONs create wider impact, empowering regions to lead the way in achieving Europe’s energy and climate goals. Each EON may include different actors, depending on its context. For instance, in Czechia, it includes LRAs, universities, and Local Action Groups (LAGs, which derive from the EU’s LEADER approach on rural development).
EONs directly contribute to changing regional and local energy governance. While this governance has long been closed and top-down, the OCTOPUS project shows that regional and local energy governance can become more horizontal and be more inclusive of local energy stakeholders. Such a governance model benefits actors like RECs, which gain space to emerge, to be recognised, and to be supported by regional and local institutions.
The key message from the OCTOPUS project is that when collaboration is institutionalised, designed, and managed by regional and local energy agencies through EONs, it enables LRAs to meet EU sustainability goals. However, while such innovative and multi-level energy governance is valuable, it is important to note that many LRAS face significant challenges in contributing effectively to National Energy and Climate Plans, although Member States are expected to follow a multi-level governance process, according to the governance regulation. These challenges include a lack of skills, staff, data, and resources.
While RECs have long focused on electricity production, often from photovoltaic sources, they now increasingly explore new technologies and activities. These include energy sharing, building renovation, or specific actions in remote areas, as illustrated by the following projects.
In the ENERGIZE+ project, regional and local energy agencies play an active, hands-on role in helping industrial parks become RECs. These agencies begin by mapping energy use and potential shared resources among neighbouring companies, diagnosing barriers in governance, legal structures, and financing that often prevent joint action. Then, they bring businesses together around concrete opportunities for renewable generation and energy efficiency, organise tailored training and mentoring for firms and investors, and help shape collaborative agreements that reflect local conditions. Through pilot actions in Spain, Italy, Austria, and Czechia, agencies test business models, gather practical lessons, and build digital tools and guidance that other parks can use to replicate successful approaches. For instance, the pilot case in Spain produces and shares electricity among businesses that are part of the energy community, whereas the Czech case involves businesses that have established collective self-consumption. Their continuous engagement with companies and stakeholders turns abstract energy cooperation concepts into real projects capable of cutting emissions and strengthening local economic resilience.
In the CLR initiative, regional and local energy agencies act as key ”enablers” for citizen-led collectives aiming to renovate buildings. Recognised by the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), these agencies already play a key role in supporting local authorities with long-term energy planning, efficiency measures, and the creation of renovation OSSs. Under Phase III of CLR, regional and local energy agencies help create a favourable environment for collective renovation projects by delivering technical guidance, financial advice, project management assistance, and capacity-building. Their expertise helps communities navigate legal and administrative barriers, develop sustainable business models, and access resources, all while fostering dynamic local ecosystems in which citizen-driven renovation efforts can thrive and be scaled up or replicated. Through these activities, regional and local energy agencies empower citizens to take ownership of energy renovation projects and accelerate the transition to more energy-efficient and resilient buildings in Europe.
Source: Energize Project
In the ISLET project, regional and local energy agencies demonstrate that they support the transition in geographically constrained territories such as islands. This LIFE project supports the collaboration between public authorities, private investors, and citizens to develop RECs tailored to small island contexts. A key tool developed through the project is national helpdesks, which provide citizens, SMEs, and local authorities with guidance on legislation, technical solutions, governance models, and access to funding for community energy projects. These helpdesks, which resemble an OSS, act as accessible entry points for island stakeholders navigating the complexity of setting up renewable energy communities, offering tailored advice and practical tools throughout the process. In countries such as Greece and Malta, regional and local energy agencies themselves run these support services, demonstrating how such agencies translate European policy frameworks into hands-on assistance that empowers local actors and accelerates the energy transition in island territories.
Transition processes are not just technical. They are also social and political challenges that require the involvement of citizens. Regional and local energy agencies enhance citizen participation, support citizen-led projects, thereby cultivating trust, which is often lacking. Trust is a key factor in facilitating the acceptance of smart low-carbon technologies by end-use consumers [8]. It appears to be closely linked to user agency, whereas trust decreases when individuals perceive less control over decisions [9].
By promoting an OSS for energy communities, regional and local energy agencies create institutional spaces where citizens can access impartial advice, technical expertise, and financial guidance, thereby reducing complexity and uncertainty. Moreover, these agencies’ emphasis on capacity-building, peer learning, and knowledge exchange further reinforces agency by equipping local actors with the skills and confidence needed to engage citizens effectively.
Over the past five years, several projects led by regional and local energy agencies have explicitly tackled issues of trust and citizen participation. Among these, the CLR initiative, an EU funded support service, stands out as a flagship effort to empower communities in driving building renovation. CLR reframes renovation from an individual technical task to a collective social endeavour, enabling citizens to organise through energy communities and jointly implement energy efficiency measures. This approach addresses multiple barriers, including technical complexity, financial constraints, and legal uncertainties, all of which can erode agency and its close relationship with trust.
Regional and local energy agencies provide support to RECs in various ways. On the one hand, they work directly to facilitate the involvement of RECs in the renovation sector, in remote and geographically constrained territories, or with businesses, as shown by their involvement in CLR, ENERGIZE+, and ISLET projects. They also raise awareness about funding opportunities at EU level.
On the other hand, they support the opening of regional and local governance to various local energy stakeholders, as it is promoted by EONs in the OCTOPUS project. Their involvement in the three projects mentioned above also contributes to opening energy governance to relatively new energy actors. These agencies embody a governance model that is not just multi-level, but also brings together social and institutional innovation, experimentation, trust, and support the self-organisation of local stakeholders such as RECs [5].
Ultimately, by shaping such a governance model at the regional scale, regional and local energy agencies support the energy transition that is locally rooted, that benefits citizens and that contributes to the EU’s energy independence. Thanks to their proximity to citizens, businesses, and local authorities, regional and local energy agencies can aggregate local projects, foster community-led initiatives, and strengthen interregional cooperation, making them essential delivery agents of Europe’s clean energy transition.
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