Rural regions will play a crucial role when it comes to achieving the targets the EU and its nations have set for greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 and 2050 and for ending EU’s dependence on fossil fuels.
A key element is to provide the continent with the drastic increase of renewable energy capacity needed to radically bring fossil fuel consumption down. Wind, solar, biomass, and other energy infrastructure will be crucial, and a large portion of such installations will be built in rural regions.
Regional planning, land use, permitting, etc., will frequently be in the hands of rural communities. To accelerate the clean energy transition they need first, a good understanding of their role and which decisions must be made, and second a boost of capacity to advance planning and move to implementation.
Rural and small communities do not have access to the same human resources as urban areas and are therefore less capable of providing swift decisions due to lack of skills and competitiveness.
RECET aims to support and enhance administrations’ and stakeholders’ capacity in rural regions to play a strong role in accelerating the green transition, while ensuring local acceptance
RECET is a collaborative project of five countries and dozens of municipalities across Europe.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of municipalities in rural Europe and the economy to deal with the energy exchange and build energy exchange plans for the regions.
General objective
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the clean energy transition (CET) in five European regions and their municipalities.
-Build capacity in the administrations of municipalities and regions to accelerate local climate action,
-Establish vertical and horizontal cooperation across sectors for CET planning,
-Facilitate the development of realistic regional CET plans,
-Disseminate best practices for successful local stakeholder and community engagement and CET implementation.
Specific Objetives
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Eimur
Eimur is a public-private partnership/cluster in the field of energy, increased utilization of geothermal resources and innovation in Northeast Iceland.
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Iceland New Energy
Icelandic New Energy (INE) was founded in 1999. It is owned by the 3 largest utilities in Iceland and the Government of Iceland is also a shareholder along with the University of Iceland. It has a very simple goal: “To eliminate the use of fossil fuel in Iceland”.
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Samsø Energy Academy
Samsø Energy Academy, a non-profit organisation on the island of Samsø, Denmark is working with the consequences of climate change. Key staff members have been instrumental in the community driven clean energy transition of the island of Samsø (1997 – 2007), which led to negative net annual CO2 emissions with community engagement, participation and ownership.
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The Association of Municipalities in Northeast Iceland
The association of municipalities of Northeast Iceland (SSNE) is a centre point for regional development for the region. The association has 10 member municipalities and our role is to promote and support lively communities, vibrant cultural scenes and strong economic activity in the area.
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Westfjords Regional Development Office
Westfjords Regional Development Office was founded on 1. December 2017 with combination of Municipality Association of the Westfjords and Westfjords Regional Development Agency. Under WRDO are also Marketing and Cultural Offices of the Westfjords that manage the tourist www.westfjords.is and support number of cultural events in region.
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Energikontor Syd
ESS is owned by municipalities and regions in Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg counties in the southeast of Sweden and municipalities in the Skåne county. Since the establishment in 1999 the aim is to support and facilitate improvements in energy efficiency and increase the supply of renewable energy sources, through initiatives and activities towards private and public operators.
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The Insular Council of Menorca (CIME)
The Insular Council of Menorca is an institution of self-government in the area of the island of Menorca. It was created in 1978 after the approval of the regime of island councils and officially instituted according to the agreement of the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands.
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Postonja Municipality
Postonja Municipality has many years of experience in project management and coordination. A task group has been set up with professionals from the law, finance, construction, investment, urban planning and IT fields of expertise, and a PR officer, which enables the Municipality to conduct all project management stages on its own, i.e. project application, realization and execution, as well as final reports and promotion.
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Iskriva
Institute for Development of Local Potentials is a private non-profit organisation working in the field of balanced and sustainable regional development, from local to international level. It operates as a thinkand-do-tank, developing and implementing projects, developed following the principles of sustainability.