CEAH to spotlight the EU’s most impactful, replicable and scalable citizen energy initiatives

The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub (CEAH) aims to establish tangible citizen energy models and benchmarks by identifying, analysing, and promoting the most promising initiatives across the European Union (EU).  

As citizen energy initiatives become set to play a significant role in Europe’s clean energy transition, easy-to-follow, replicable and transferable models and benchmarks are needed. 

To help address this, CEAH will systematically identify, assess, and promote a diverse set of the most impactful and replicable examples of citizen energy in action – initiatives that set out to unlock insights and accelerate a clean and inclusive energy transition. 

“Citizen energy initiatives have huge potential; they deliver community-based solutions that are often more inclusive, democratic, and tailored to local needs. However, scaling them requires a deeper understanding of what really works, why and how.” Said Pouyan Maleki-Dizaji, CEAH Best Practice Task Leader. “This work is about capturing the most promising practices across Europe and translating those lessons into something actionable. It’s a critical step in accelerating a truly inclusive, citizen-centred energy transition.” 

CEAH will identify and analyse 55 best practices, which will be selected from a much larger pool of cases and examples that will be mapped by the project. These will include a wide range of initiatives – from grassroots energy communities to local authorities, small businesses and farmers helping citizens to navigate and benefit from the energy transition.  

Each best practice will be rigorously assessed against a comprehensive framework, evaluating several dimensions:  

• Innovation: examining new and effective approaches to organising or financing citizen energy. 
• Inclusiveness: looking at the participation of underrepresented groups and equitable benefit-sharing. 
• Impact: measuring social and distributional effects such as affordability and access, alongside environmental outcomes. 
• Governance: assessing participatory processes, transparency, and democratic decision-making. 
• Financial and economic viability: considering business models, cost-effectiveness, and funding mechanisms. 
• Policy and regulatory enablers: evaluating the local, regional, or national frameworks that made the initiative possible. 

CEAH will use a standardised and well-designed template to highlight key enablers, challenges, and replicable features. 

Missions: On-the-Ground Learning 

CEAH will also undertake 10 in-depth "missions" – on-site visits to selected initiatives. During these two-day engagements, CEAH representatives will conduct interviews, observe local dynamics, and engage stakeholders to assess real-world impacts such as inclusiveness, environmental outcomes, and local benefits.  

These missions will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of local impacts, stakeholder dynamics, and transferability potential of the selected initiatives. They will also help validate best practice findings and inform the CEAH technical assistance programme and future guidance. 

Call for Contributions 

CEAH is actively seeking input from across the EU.  

“These outputs will not only support the ongoing development of technical assistance under CEAH, but will also feed into broader policy discussions, capacity-building activities, and communication materials to promote citizen energy across the EU. 

We want to hear from you if you have a promising initiative in mind or know of a standout example that deserves wider recognition and analysis. Your example could be featured as part of this EU-wide effort to understand and promote citizen energy initiatives.” – Pouyan Maleki-Dizaji, CEAH Best Practice Task Leader.  

Submissions can be made directly to the CEAH team via the project mailbox: ceahinforicardo [dot] com (ceahinfo[at]ricardo[dot]com)