GREENCOM NETWORKS CONTRIBUTES PILOT TO UP-STAIRS, A HORIZON 2020 PROJECT AIMING TO DEVELOP A STANDARD FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY COMMUNITY GROWTH

• UP-STAIRS, 3-year citizens’ collective energy action project led by Tyndall National Institute’s International Energy Research Centre based in Ireland, receives €2M in Horizon 2020 funding.
• The project aims to develop a standard framework for the growth of energy communities and to facilitate citizen participation in the transition from a consumer to a prosumer market.
• GreenCom Networks develops digital platform hosting UP-STAIRS’ energy service model framework as well as an app to connect community members and UP-STAIRS implementation champions with an overall objective of promoting collective action.
• In addition, GreenCom Networks will set up a pilot region to test tailor-made one-stop-shop business model.
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Munich, 18^th of November 2020. Building an energy community comes with many hurdles. In most cases, local groups struggle with barriers like lack of experience, resources, networks, time or even finance. To resolve these needs, the UP-STAIRS project establishes a one-stop-shop solution providing information, advice, capacity building, energy auditing, financing, and implementation of energy efficiency and energy conservation solutions, as well as monitoring of impacts and benefits. With this holistic approach, the UP-STAIRS project will push for an effective and accelerated growth of sustainable energy communities. The necessary service model framework will be made available through local authorities who will drive the uptake of energy efficiency and energy conservation measures in residential communities.

GreenCom Networks to develop digital platform for UP-STAIRS

To aid these goals, GreenCom Networks will develop a digital platform connecting community members among each other and with UP-STAIRS’ implementation champions aiming to promote collective action in communities. Furthermore, a digital version of the UP-STAIRS energy service model framework will include useful features like workflows, interactive business model canvases, financial model analysis or decision-making tools to help with operational needs. Furthermore, GreenCom will deploy learnings from the Brunnthal energy community and set up a pilot region to test the tailor-made open-source business model, combining decentralised energy resources with energy efficiency measures.

Henrik Schapp, UP-STAIRS project lead at GreenCom Networks, said: “Building an energy community is not a trivial matter – it is quite complex, but at the same time absolutely necessary to lift the energy transition to the next level. We’re delighted to share our experience from the Brunnthal energy community with the UP-STAIRS project that will help reduce all kinds of hurdles delaying new energy communities. We need energy communities to make the energy industry more sustainable, and the UP-STAIRS project will help immensely.”