At the end of May of this year, the Regional Development Agency Srem hosted an international meeting of partners on the REC4EU (Renewable Energy Communities for EU Regions) Project, which brings together organisations and institutions from nine European countries with the aim of developing renewable energy communities and a sustainable energy transition. The Project is part of the Interregional Territorial Cooperation Programme Interreg Europe, which is coordinated in the Republic of Serbia by the Ministry of European Integration.
The meeting in Ruma brought together representatives from Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Finland, Poland and other countries, while the focus was on the exchange of experiences and examples of good practice in the field of solar energy, energy communities and the inclusion of citizens in sustainable energy production models.
The representative of the RDA Srem, Bora Obradović, pointed out that this meeting of partners was intended as an opportunity to exchange experiences, where more developed European regions showcase examples of good practice, but also as an opportunity to present Srem as an environment that actively works on the development of renewable energy communities, especially in the field of solar power plants.
“There are multiple aspects to this Project, which we joined in 2024 with the idea of exchanging and collecting experiences from the most developed regions of European countries. That would mean a lot to us in respect of our concrete initiatives,” Obradović stressed.
“By working on this Project and on some other initiatives with state structures, we shall establish two renewable energy communities during the period that coincided with the duration of this Project. One will be in Stara Pazova at the building of the Innovation Centre for Education and Development (ICER), while the other shall be on our plot where we are developing a comprehensive Center for Sustainable Development in the territory of the city of Sremska Mitrovica, on the road to Jarak,” Obradović said.
The lead partner of the project is the Regional Energy Agency of Tuscany from Italy, while the Project representative Susanna Ceccanti emphasised that REC4EU today represents much more than the Project itself.
– Through cooperation with partners from different European countries, we are achieving concrete changes in respect of regional policies and energy transition. The goal is a greener and more energy-independent Europe – said Ceccanti.
The REC4EU Project runs from 2023 to February 2027, with the final event being the showcasing of the results.
The Interreg Europe Programme is a territorial cooperation programme of the European Union whose aim is to provide support to national, regional and local governments across Europe in order to reduce disparities in levels of development, growth and quality of life. The Programme focuses on identifying good practices and exchanging good experiences to improve regional development policies. Programme activities are implemented through projects and platforms for the improvement of policies.
More details about the programme are available at: https://www.interregeurope.eu/
Source: Sremske vesti and MEI
