Public voting for EUSEW Awards opens

Local energy action

The Local Energy Action Award recognizes sustainable initiatives led by citizen or consumer groups (associated with local governments or other stakeholders) in the energy field, which contribute to the clean energy transition at community or local level. This year the finalists are the De Energiecentrale project, the Centrales Villageoises initiative and AUSL Romagna.

The Energy Plant aims to simplify energy renovation and make it more accessible for households in Ghent, Belgium. Due to technical, financial and administrative challenges, homeowners often give up on energy renovation of their households. The Energy Plant offers free guidance and assistance to citizens in carrying out energy renovations.

Ghent residents can receive support throughout the entire process: from visits by experts who assess the necessary renovations to finding contractors, comparing offers and applying for subsidies and loans.

The second finalist in the Local Energy Action category is the French initiative Centrales Villageoises. Citizens involved unite through local cooperative enterprises for community-based renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The initiative has enabled the installation of more than 500 solar roof installations.

AUSL Romagna, a regional healthcare organization in Italy, has developed a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency in dozens of hospitals and buildings. The approach integrates energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable mobility. The agency uses all available funding sources and awareness initiatives among its 15,000 employees and more than one million citizens.

Woman in Energy

The Woman in Energy Award highlights the activities of women that, if replicated elsewhere, will contribute to accelerating the clean energy transition in Europe. Special attention is paid to efforts to advance the gender mainstreaming agenda and support equality and equal opportunities in the energy sector.

This year’s finalists are Françoise Réfabert, Rita Gomes and Karolina Attspodina.

After working in the banking sector for 25 years, Françoise Réfabert founded a consultancy firm in Paris in 2010. In collaboration with local authorities, she developed a model for financing energy efficiency measures, allowing third parties to borrow money for energy renovation.

Her work led to the creation of the Serafin association, which helps low-income households access long-term interest-free loans for the renovation of their homes.

Architect Rita Gomes uses dye-sensitive solar cells and transforms household items into devices that produce renewable energy. She is director of the award-winning startup Seenergy in Porto, Portugal, which is working to democratize solar energy production by integrating solar cells and batteries into furniture.

Entrepreneur Karolina Attspodina, originally from Ukraine, founded the company WeDoSolar in Berlin in 2022, which develops solar panels that are easy to install on balconies.

WeDoSolar immediately sold its first sets of balcony solar panels and now sells its products in 24 EU member states.

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