CIVIC ENERGY GROUP FOR NIEMCE COMMUNE
24.9.2021
The second workshop of the ENES-CE project in 2021 took place - for residents and other stakeholders in the Niemce Commune with aim to create a civic energy group.
On September 9, 2021, the ENES-CE project workshop was held in the commune of Niemce, entitled:
"Presentation and discussion on draft documents, incl. on the establishment of the Energy Cluster in the Niemce Commune of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, as part of the ENES-CE project activities and further cooperation of the Energy Cluster", in which participated, i. a., residents and stakeholders from the Commune of Niemce, as well as representatives of the Commune Office and the Marshal's Office of the Lubelskie Voivodeship.
The meeting was led by an external expert involved in the ENES-CE project, who presented and discussed with the participants draft documents on the creation of an energy cluster in the Niemce Commune.
During the meeting, the participants discussed with an expert the activities and development
of the cluster in the future. The talks also concerned priority investments in the Commune, especially
photovoltaic panels, in the expansion of the gas and heating network, and the possibility of replacing coal with gas.
An interesting point on the agenda was also the report of an external expert on a study visit to a civic energy group operating in the town of Pfaffenhofen (Germany).
As the expert emphasized, the creation of a civic energy group in Germany took several years. Today, however, the group can boast of large investment projects that bring many benefits to the local community. These are, among others: biogas plants, wastewater treatment plants with a system for producing electricity from biogas and energy storage, photovoltaic installations, central heating and electricity generation systems powered by gas fuel, and wind turbines. All these activities would not be possible if they had not been preceded by many years of education of the local community,
as well as extensive consultations in order to gain acceptance and approval for the undertaken plans. As a result, a thriving environment was created, which today successfully implements new solutions in green energy.
As the expert emphasized, some of the presented good practices from Pfaffenhofen can also be transferred to the Niemce Commune after careful consideration of financing and technical possibilities.
Establishing a civic energy group in the form of an energy cluster in the Niemce Commune will enable planning energy investments with the involvement of the local community. Thanks to the vision of collaboration to reduce CO2 emissions, low emissions in the commune, enhance promotion and education, it will be easier to implement investment activities in renewable energy, aimed
at improving energy efficiency, as well as reducing emissions of pollutants into the air.
