April 19, 2024 – The Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) in partnership with the European Commission Representation in Croatia is organizing the Good Energy conference on April 25, 2024 in the premises of Wespa Spaces (Radnička 50) in Zagreb. The focus of the fourth edition of this ZEZ’s regular event dedicated to community energy are energy communities and the perspective of their development in Croatia.

Behind the concept of energy community is an opportunity for all citizens of the European Union, including Croatia to independently produce, share and sell renewable energy. For example, a group of owners of family houses, small businesses and public institutions in a neighborhood can install a joint solar PV plant and independently produce the energy they need through an energy community . The key advantage of such citizen participation in the energy market is that the economic, but also social benefits of renewable energy as a local resource remain in the local community. Experience in other European countries shows that such a form of investment in renewable energy brings two to eight times more benefits to the local community than renewable energy projects from external investors. 

Energy communities were introduced into the Croatian legal framework in 2021, and by spring 2024 only one had been formally established. The conference will therefore open a space for dialogue between decision-makers and practitioners, thus contributing to visibility and solutions to obstacles to more energy communities in our country, but also further focus on the role that energy communities can play in combating energy poverty.

Program of the Good Energy will be opened by Gabriele Giudice, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), who also supervises the implementation of the Croatian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. He will share expectations towards the EU member states for the development of energy communities. In addition to local experts who will present the Forum for Energy Communities in Croatia, some of the most successful energy cooperatives from other European countries will share their experiences. Among them is the French cooperative Énergie Partagée and the Dutch cooperative Energie Samen which are known for the financial mechanisms they provide for the multiplication and development of new energy cooperatives. They will be accompanied by the cooperative Enercoop which contributes to combating energy poverty in France through microdonations of its members when paying energy bills.  

The Good Energy conference is intended for community energy initiatives, experts and practitioners in the field of renewable energy, representatives of institutions, local governance units and all those interested in faster development of energy communities in Croatia. 

Take a look at the program and sign up for participation via the conference website: https://dobraenergija.zez.coop/en/ 

The Good Energy Conference is organized as part of the projects ACCE – Access to Capital for Community Energy and COMET – Coalitions for Community Energy Catalyzation in Eastern EU which are financed from the LIFE program of the European Union, and the projects CEES – Community Energy for Energy Solidarity and SCCALE 20-30-50 which are financed from the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union by grant agreements no. 101026972 and no. 101033676.

March 13, 2024 – The cooperative ZEZ Sun raised 140,000 euros in member shares in just ten days after the opening of its first call for members, thus securing the entire investment for a solar power plant owned by citizens at the City of Križevci’s City Market. As members of the ZEZ Sun, individuals and legal entities will become co-owners of its solar power plants and generate yields. ZEZ Sun is inspired by community energy initiatives operating across Europe, which are also encouraged by the European Union in the form of energy communities. In practice, ZEZ Sun represents the first example of an energy community in Croatia.

The first call for members of ZEZ Sun opened on March 1 with the support of the Green Energy Cooperative, the City of Križevci and the energy cooperative KLIK. Until March 11, 108 citizens responded, of which 93 new and 15 existing members of the cooperative. In the first seven days since the opening of the call, the citizens of Križevci and surrounding municipalities had the advantage of membership and investment, and have provided a quarter of the necessary funds, i.e. 33,000 euros, while in just three days since the opening of the call for the rest of the country citizens from other cities provided the remaining 107,000 euros.

“We are delighted with the speed of response to our first call for members, that citizens recognize the value of this story and that they have given us a chance. We also call on cities across Croatia to cede city roofs to citizens and thus ensure that the value of solar energy, which is usable in every part of our country, is retained locally”, said Mislav Kirac, manager of the ZEZ Sun.

“Thank you to everyone who responded to the first call for membership in the energy cooperative ZEZ Sun and thus enabled the raising of funds for the construction of a solar power plant at the City Market. Citizens’ support of this project confirms that they have recognized the importance of the energy transition and decided to take the energy into their own hands. This is the inclusion that we promote in Križevci, that citizens voluntarily and without any pressure create their future. I am glad that Križevci was the first city in which a ZEZ Sun project was implemented, which confirms that we are the leader of the energy transition in Croatia. I would like our example to be followed by other municipalities and cities in Croatia because Croatia is full of potential for such projects, it just needs to be brave and catch the opportunity provided by renewable energy sources. Križevci recognized this opportunity, and with the support of its inhabitants, energy independence is becoming  reality”, said Mario Rajn, mayor of Križevci.

The installation and commissioning of a 200 kW solar power plant at the City Market in Križevci is planned for autumn 2024. ZEZ Sun will sell energy on the market, of which part of the realized profits will be distributed to members, while a part will be invested in community projects. The long-term goal is that members can use the energy produced by the cooperative’s solar power plants in their households or business facilities. ZEZ Sun will open calls for members periodically, after contracting new projects.

Source of cover foto photo: Unsplash/Tod-Rhines

This year at the Green Energy Cooperative we are marking the tenth anniversary of our activities in the field of community energy. In practice, it means that behind us is a decade of work on empowering citizens and local communities to become active participants in the energy market. Our focus is on supporting citizens to produce their energy from the Sun by investing in integrated solar photovoltaic power plants for their homes, or large solar photovoltaic power plants on public buildings by forming energy communities.

To be an active participant in the energy market also means acquiring knowledge about managing your production and consumption, sharing surpluses and having concrete benefits such as energy savings and revenues. In this way, active citizens contribute to energy independence, reduced fossil fuel use and to climate change mitigation. This also ensures more economic activity and revenue retention in the local community. Relevant EU directives and regulations encourage all we have been working on, but it doesn’t work straightforwardly and is not as simple as it may seem. 

We don’t know it, we don’t have it, but we could?

In Croatia prevails low awareness on the benefits of solar energy and insufficient understanding of the process of installation and use of solar power, which is directly related to the amount of green energy produced. With only 2 % of electricity generated from the Sun, we are at the bottom of the EU countries’ ranking, while the EU average in 2022 was 8 %. Our “yellow slice on the cake” that shows the structure of available electricity is so thin that it is barely visible, despite the very large solar potential we have as a country in Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean. This low production is in complete opposite of our potential and that’s why we at ZEZ decided to change that.

Image: Structure of available electricity in The Republic of Croatia in 2022. Source: Renewable Energy Sources-Croatia Association (OIE-H): https://oie.hr/elektroenergetska-kretanja-u-hrvatskoj-u-2022/

Shortly after the “world stopped” due to the coronavirus pandemic, we established a non-profit service for citizens “On the Sunny Side” that brings together all we do at the website nasunčanojstrani.hr. Through the service, we make the process of realization of a solar power plant faster, easier and more financially profitable by advising citizens in making investment decisions. We also provide a turnkey service and group procurement of equipment and installation. 

In the process of designing our service, we were guided by insights from the field and by several different surveys of public attitudes towards renewable energy sources in Croatia done in 2021. At that time, more than 80 % of respondents did not use renewable energy sources in their households (1), citizens were not familiar with the process of obtaining permits for their own production of electricity (2) or with the concept of energy community, but in principle they were open to joint electricity production with neighbours. The prevailing attitude was that the state insufficiently informs citizens about the possibilities of its electricity production and insufficiently promotes the corresponding incentives.

Over the past year, with the support of Google.org, we have further digitised and improved the service “On the Sunny Side” to bring the benefits of solar power plants as close as possible to as many people in Croatia. The key to the energy transition is not only in new or advanced technology but also in people who have the knowledge and motivation to use all its potential.

How do you “switch” as many citizens as possible to the sunny side?

We developed and implemented our activities in two directions. The first direction is a set of “soft” but essential activities of different ways of education and advanced use of digital infrastructure. For example, this is the free Solar Literacy course of seven modules available to everyone on the service’s website, which we developed out of a series of our webinars and live lectures.

More than 80 % of our workshop participants say that it is now much easier for them to explain to their friends the benefits of solar energy and the process of setting up a power plant; and that they are more motivated to use solar energy than before.

We have also digitised our processes by introducing a customer management system, which significantly increases our efficiency. Now we can address the issues described before in a way that is more modern, flexible and faster than the “analogue” way. Our education and assistance package encourage actions and change of behaviour of citizens and ultimately increase the number of installed power plants.

Impressions of citizens – participants of education

-For me, the influence of the workshops was that it helped me decide to use renewable energy sources and to start installing a solar power plant for my household needs.

-Now I’m thinking about putting photovoltaics on my house and opening a company that will sell and install PV.

-I’m going to talk to neighbours about working on a joint smaller solar power plant in our neighbourhood.

The second direction is a set of activities that have increased the visibility of our service and in general the benefits of using solar energy in households.

We have upgraded the content and functions of the website with a lot of useful information for citizens. We improved the solar calculator that provides initial information on the cost-effectiveness of investment. We set up information about fifty partners important in the solar value chain – from designers and installers to suppliers of equipment. And we created the already mentioned Solar Literacy course.

We also got out to the streets of about thirty cities with our Good Energy Tour. In addition to the “Sunny Living Room” intended for citizens, during the Tour we held workshops with representatives of local self-government on their role in the solarization of cities.

Impression of a representative of local government, participant of an educational workshop for cities on the good energy tour

We as employees of cities have to cover very diverse activities and often, especially in smaller cities, cannot follow legal changes or the trends in a very specific field such as energy. By going through the education and the solar literacy modules of ZEZ, we had the opportunity to gain the basic knowledge we need, and more importantly, about the role of local communities in the solarization process. In addition, it is most useful for me to know that we have someone behind us as professional support. I can always contact ZEZ for help as a reliable source of information. For example, their solar calculator is also a great help, which I regularly use in direct contact with citizens who want to install solar panels in Poreč.

Gordana Lalić 
PARENTIUM Ltd.
City of Poreč-Parenzo 

The key to a just and inclusive energy transition is people who are informed, possess knowledge and have the available support to decide and implement change toward their own energy production. Young people are also important not only because the energy transition directly affects their future, but also because some of them are in the phase of choosing further education and occupation paths. There is a wide range of green jobs related to solar energy such as design, installations, smart management and storage systems, hence we have implemented a part of our education in secondary vocational schools in Istria, one of the two Croatian regions selected for the use of the EU Just Transition Fund.

Impressions of students and professors of the Industrial and Crafts School Pula, Gymnasiums and vocational schools Labin and Buje School of Commerce – participants of educational workshops in Pula

The lecture was worth it, I learned a lot. This has helped me a lot and I think I’m going to install my solar panels.

The lecture was interesting, it is the future and it is good for students to know that there is also this possibility for further career development.

The lecture was very instructive and provides a good starting point; it will come in handy and will inspire them for further education and work.

Photo/ZEZ: Istrian high school students – solar literacy education participants

One of the biggest advantages of this project for ZEZ, but also for our users, is certainly the digitalization of the service “On the Sunny Side”.  Now citizens and employees of city administrations have easier access and can visit our improved website at any time. We have created a sustainable infrastructure for education as the largest long-term outcome of a project, directly affecting the knowledge, awareness and motivation of users and contributing to the change of behaviour in energy management.

Our results in numbers

• • Our content and educational activities have reached over 14.000 citizens thus helping them decide on investing in a solar power plant.
  • More than 10.000 people viewed education content on ZEZ’s YouTube channel.
  • The Solar Calculator was used by more than 4000 users; about 100 attendees of Solar Literacy e-learning modules passed the test and got a certificate.
  • We conducted about twenty in-person educations with specific target groups – with Istrian high school students and with city officials on the Good Energy tour.
  • We have ensured the installation of almost 1 MW of new solar power plants on family houses.
  • We have created a network of over 50 partners in the solar power value chain.
  • We have included 20 new cities in our network of Good Energy Cities thus encouraging them to additionally support their citizens in the use of solar energy.
  • We reached nearly one million citizens through our social network channels

Scheme: What we have invested and what we have achieved: our results in numbers.

From “Maybe” to “YES!” for solar energy

The important impact of the project is two-fold: on one hand, it managed to shift many people from “Maybe” to “YES!” towards green energy; and on the other hand, it tested and proved the mechanism of how to do it in a specific context. 

It is also essential to understand the role of the community in a bottom-up, community-driven change context. It was the website and the entire service On the Sunny Side that connected different actors in the community of experts, public administration employees, craftsmen, schools, entrepreneurs, installers and citizens themselves who were given space to communicate and have easy access to knowledge and support. 

With the support of Google.org in this project we have enabled the community to possess and easily access resources, which is the largest and most sustainable created impact that directly reflects on users and contributes to change. Visit us On the Sunny Side because the Sun is free and available for everyone who knows how to use it!

(1) Slijepčević, Sunčana and Kordej-De Villa, Željka (2021). “Public attitudes towards renewable energy sources in Croatia”, in Economic impacts of the development of renewable energy sources, URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/23/8111 .

(2) https://www.iusinfo.hr/aktualno/dnevne-novosti/matic-gra%C4%91anima-ugradnju-solarnih-panela-otezavaju-zakoni-i-nedostatak-financija-52911

November 22, 2023 – Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) opened the implementation of the international project “COMET – Coalitions for Community Energy Catalyzation in Eastern EU” by gathering partners at a two-day project meeting in Zagreb. ZEZ will coordinate this new project in the field of community energy on behalf of the international project consortium consisting of REScoop.eu – European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives (Belgium), Electra energy (Greece), Technical University of Tallinn (Estonia), Solidarity Economy Center (Hungary), Focus – Society for Sustainable Development (Slovenia), PLZ Spoldzielnia CoopTechHub (Poland) and Cooperativa de Energie (Romania).

The goal of the “COMET” project is to influence the development of supporting conditions for community energy by joining in advocacy and capacity development activities with leading energy cooperatives and communities in the EU, especially the Eastern EU. The project is financed through the LIFE Program, an EU instrument for financing activities in the field of environment, nature and climate protection, in the amount of €1,499,825, while the total value of the project is €1,578,764.

“Naturally, we took over the coordination of this project in line with a series of activities that we are undertaking to enable simple establishment of energy communities and community energy in general in Croatia, but also in line with many years of active cooperation with relevant organizations in the field of community energy in the region and the EU. This project is complementary to other advocacy projects that we are implementing, and we have no doubt that it will play a significant role in the changes in the field of community energy that we aim for in the years to come.” said Erica Svetec, manager of the “COMET” project for ZEZ.

The project will build national coalitions for community energy that will work together to simplify procedures and create better conditions for citizen participation in renewable energy projects, and then conditions for replicating good practices that the coalitions will create. The strength of the project lies in the project consortium that has a good understanding of the complex obstacles that hinder the involvement of citizens in renewable energy projects in the Eastern EU. The consortium is made up of cooperatives, non-governmental organizations and academic partners, thus covering a broad set of expertise needed to successfully implement project activities and ensure its impact.

The “COMET” project will be in implementation until October 31, 2026.

The strategic priorities of the European Union set by the Green Deal have put focus on the green, energy and digital transition towards a climate-neutral continent.

The strategy overflows into the legal package Fit for 55, and it is reinforced by the program for accelerated transition and reduction of dependence on imported fossil fuels called RePowerEU, with ambitions for more savings and more energy produced from renewable sources, including solar. In order to achieve this, a lot of effort and investment is needed, and not only in technologies like PV systems and digital infrastructure, but also in people, in empowering users to more actively and effectively monitor and manage their energy consumption through new behavioral patterns.

It is consumer behavior that brings us to the topic of the European project NUDGE in which the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) participates as a partner by implementing innovative pilot interventions to encourage changes in energy use. We asked its project manager Lucija Nađ to guide us through the important insights of the project.

What is “nudging”?

Nudging is a term from behavioral economics and psychology that suggests that small changes in the environment can prompt people to make decisions that are in their best interest. Thus, nudging is a subtle reminder or suggestion designed to influence behavior in a specific, predictable way, often making a particular choice easier or more attractive, without limiting freedom of choice. An example from everyday life is placing healthy food products at the eye level in a canteen, which can be considered an incentive to make healthier food choices. The key is to design incentives that are not intrusive, that are easy to understand and attractive to the target audience.

In our example, it is about encouraging users to reduce electricity consumption through smarter and more efficient management of self-consumption in households that also produce their energy with a solar PV system. In the NUDGE project, nudging techniques were used to encourage behavior change in the form of content that users see and learn using the Sunči app, which the Green Energy Cooperative developed specifically for this purpose. For example, the app tells the user “Today is a sunny day, your solar PV system is producing at full capacity, which is an ideal time for self-consumption of electricity: turn on the washing machine or/and charge the battery of your EV.” The ultimate goal is to maximize self-consumption of energy in the simplest possible way.

How does it work?

Based on the results of research conducted in 29 EU member states, including Croatia, insights about their behavior and energy efficiency have been collected. Behavioral experts have used that to create profiles of six types of energy consumers.

Consumer types vary from those who are environmentally and energy conscious and well informed, to those who are concerned but primarily oriented towards comfort; those who are tech-agnostic, love comfort and behave irresponsibly towards energy consumption; and those who are materialistic and run away from personal responsibility, but are “afraid” of high expenses. You can find more about the types of consumers and incentives for behavioral changes through this informational poster.

What is Sunči and what was ZEZ’s focus within this project?

In order for users to be able to manage their energy consumption, they must be able to monitor energy data, such as production from a solar PV system, household consumption, self-consumption, and energy delivered and taken from the grid. This required the installation of smart meter devices to collect this data, and to make the data available to the users in an educational and comprehensible way, we created the Sunči app. The app was tested on 82 users.

Let’s meet Sunči: Sunči collects data via a smart meter device (Shelly) that is installed in the main fuse board in the house to measure electricity consumption in the household and in the fuse board of the solar PV system, where it monitors production and consumption. The collected data is translated into graphics that enable the user to easily manage household consumption in relation to energy production. Sunči is the first application of its kind that shows users’ measurement data, and in Croatian!

Through Sunči, we also sent nudging interventions – advice to users according to their user type. We are now in the third and last intervention before the end of the project. This intervention was preceded by an intervention that gives feedback and raises awareness about consumption, and an intervention that nudges a consumer to set a desired goal for savings. ZEZ plans to continue developing the Sunči app and offer it for use to other interested consumers after the end of the project.

At the beginning of the implementation of the NUDGE project, we launched a communication campaign to identify users who meet the technical conditions to enter the pilot group of the project. Out of over 430 expressions of interest from all over Croatia, 82 users from the area of Slavonia and Continental Croatia were selected to receive free smart meter devices for monitoring energy consumption and production in the household. We had to limit the geographical area of the pilot group due to the similarity of climate characteristics, the intensity of solar radiation, and the availability of local installers – that is, the implementation of the research itself, so there would be no deviations and irregularities in the collected data.

“I like the devices because they are as accurate as the bills I get from the HEP (Croatian electricity company), but the HEP readings only come next month so you can’t track your daily consumption and production, whereas with Sunči you can, which is much better and more practical. It simply makes sense.”

“It is necessary for something like that to exist in Croatia. It is a pity that the installers do not immediately do this when installing the solar PV system to manage its production and consumption. It is also a shame that the law is so strict that you move to another model of consumption if you exceed the production limit. Without monitoring, you can’t know how much you spend and produce.” – user from the city of Vrbovec, Croatia

“I like to see the graph, but you can’t see the numbers unless you click on a column. The Shelly device has a more complicated app compared to the Sunči. Sunči is simple, understandable, has a nicer name and it is great that it is in Croatian!” – user from Prigorje Brdovečko, Croatia

Why is this important?

We have noticed that electricity users often do not understand how energy is consumed. It is not clear to the majority which devices in the household consume more and which less energy, which is important for efficient management of self-consumption in the real time. Users are aware that there is a higher (more expensive) and lower (cheaper) tariff, but they lack a way to monitor actual consumption, especially in relation to the production of their own solar PV system. With the Sunči app, all of this is monitored in one place. Encouraging changes in the use of energy is an important solution that results in the adoption of habits that contribute to reducing the carbon footprint, more efficient use of local resources and increasing energy self-sufficiency. At the same time, the user’s energy and environment awareness increases.

What did the research of other project partners show?

The project includes a total of five pilot locations at the EU level, each focused on a different segment of the use of renewable energy in the household. In Belgium, they were engaged in education system to raise awareness about energy efficiency from a young age, in Greece they encouraged efficient management of heating and domestic hot water by installing smart meter devices, in Portugal they encouraged energy savings (electricity and gas heating) in households of families with children, while in Germany they focused on EVs and charging optimization. The pilot locations have shown that nudging techniques are applicable in different segments of energy consumption. With the help of behavioral science, we can significantly contribute to a more responsible and efficient use of energy.

Next steps?
We invested a lot of effort and time in the development of the first Croatian app that offers the possibility of monitoring energy consumption and production for households that have installed solar PV systems. With the experience gained, we see room for its improvement with new features. We are grateful to our group of 82 pilot users who decided to join this project and test this innovative solution with us. Thanks to the feedback they contribute with, Sunči will soon have some new functionalities.

NUDGE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 957012.

To help elderly citizens at risk of energy poverty in the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County, the Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) and the Solidarna Foundation launched the Ease Their Troubles campaign at the end of October to collect funds for energy saving. The campaign aimed to collect HRK 60,000.00 for the purchase of at least 100 energy-saving kits. During the campaign, from 26th October until the 1st of December 2022, we collected HRK 64,713.47. Raised funds provided energy-saving kits for 111 households!

From all our hearts we want to thank all the individuals, companies, and organizations that helped achieve this goal, either by donating or sharing information about the Ease their Troubles campaign. We believe that your support will give long-term value to all users of energy-saving kits. ?

During the campaign, a total of 189 donations were made, of which 178 were by individuals and 11 by legal entities. The lowest individual donation was HRK 5.00, while the highest was HRK 10,395.00. The average donation amount was HRK 342.39.

All donors, individuals, and organizations, have passed the assessment process according to the Rulebook on Relations with Donors and the Rulebook on Conflict-of-Interest Management.

Next steps

Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) and the Solidarna Foundation will start the process of collective procurement of energy-saving kits in December 2022. Green Energy Cooperative will also evaluate applications for users and publish a list of households that will exercise the right to energy-saving kits and free energy consulting.

If you know a potential user of the energy-saving kits, contact us for more information about the conditions and registration at 01 2095 552.

We do not have to stop at 111 households ?

Since we surely and undoubtedly know that there are many more than 111 people at risk of energy poverty in the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb County area, as well as beyond, we are open to increasing the amounts of donations to ensure help for more people. All companies and organizations interested in further support of this initiative can contact us at paula.damaska@zez.coop.