Building Renovation and District Heating and Cooling Networks for Collective Decarbonisation

Roser Salvat (OECOOP) and Xavier Gallart (Suno)

28-09-2026

Accelerating the renovation of the building stock is essential to moving towards a decarbonised energy system. This is a particularly significant challenge in the European Union: 85% of buildings were constructed before 2000, and approximately 75% have poor energy performance. Yet the annual energy renovation rate is only around 1%.

The energy renovation of residential buildings enables households, homeowners’ associations and local energy communities to reduce their energy consumption through measures such as improving passive systems, which focus on the building envelope (insulation, windows, solar shading, etc.). However, it is also important to address the efficiency of active systems, such as heating, cooling, domestic hot water and ventilation installations.

From the building to the wider territory

Renovating a building should not mean thinking about it in isolation. Rethinking how we produce, distribute and use the energy we need to heat and cool our homes and provide hot water also means reconsidering how this is done in our apartment blocks, neighbourhoods, towns and cities.

In fact, every building is part of an shared energy system with other residential and public buildings. In this context, district heating and cooling (DHC) networks open up new opportunities for local territories, their public authorities and, above all, the citizens who can benefit from them.

Benefits of district heating and cooling (DHC) networks

European legislation reinforces the role of district heating and cooling (DHC) networks in building decarbonisation policies precisely because they make it possible to produce and distribute thermal energy collectively across several buildings, integrating local renewable energy sources or making use of waste heat.

When we broaden our perspective to include an entire neighbourhood or municipality, adopting a collective approach, we can see that DHC networks offer an alternative and highly promising way of approaching building renovation and decarbonisation. Reducing buildings’ energy demand and finding the best way to meet their energy needs are essential, but it is also important to ensure that the active systems installed inside homes are compatible with and can be integrated into DHC networks. Building renovation and DHC networks, therefore, are not alternative approaches, but complementary measures that should go hand in hand.

The role of energy communities

In this context, citizen energy communities play a particularly important role. In addition to promoting renewable energy generation projects, they can help plan and manage collective energy solutions within their local territories.

This is one of the approaches explored by the European MUSE-DHC project, in which OECOOP participates as a second-tier cooperative supporting energy communities, alongside Suno, an engineering firm specialising in DHC networks.

The project aims to promote efficient urban heating and cooling networks based on renewable energy and waste heat, led or co-led by energy communities. Through nine pilot cases across five European countries, MUSE-DHC brings together citizens, public authorities, cooperatives and other local stakeholders in participatory processes through Living Labs.

MUSE-DHC cases in Catalonia

One of the cases currently being studied through a participatory process in Catalonia is located in the municipality of Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, in the Penedès region. This project examines building renovation alongside the potential for a fifth-generation, ultra-low-temperature DHC network using geothermal energy and highly efficient heat pumps. The model combines municipal action with the local energy community Ecosesgarrigues.

The other pioneering Catalan municipality is Les Masies de Voltregà. Several district heating and cooling network proposals are also being developed there. These range from recovering waste heat from a nearby copper processing plant to fifth-generation networks with independent thermal loops that could help decarbonise two of the municipality’s neighbourhoods. These initiatives are being promoted by the local council, local organisations and another OECOOP member energy community: Voltregà Energia.

Participation, planning and better renovation

Ultimately, the relationship between building renovation and DHC invites us to move beyond a fragmented view of the energy transition, recognising that buildings, energy infrastructure and communities are all part of the same strategy.

Renovation is not just about improving a façade, replacing windows or upgrading a heating system. With energy communities taking the lead and local councils acting as co-leaders, it is also about listening to citizens and to local social, economic and cultural organisations.

Stakeholder participation is essential when the challenge is to find and agree on solutions to complex but strategic questions. Looking ahead to a future increasingly affected by climate change, how do we want to meet the energy needs of public and private buildings and industries in our towns and neighbourhoods? How should responsibilities be shared among the different stakeholders? How much could a collective initiative of this kind cost? How can we meet the financial requirements? How can we inform citizens about the expected medium- and long-term benefits and encourage them to get involved?

The challenge, therefore, is not only to renovate more, but also to renovate better and collectively: through a strategic, participatory and well-planned approach that energy communities help shape and lead.

SOSS4EREC: a new European project to improve the services offered by OECOOP 

24-09-2026

At European level, OECOOP is progressively consolidating its role as a structure serving energy communities: we are a second-tier cooperative —made up of energy communities themselves— that acts both as an umbrella organisation and as a One-Stop Shop (OSS). In other words, a one-stop service providing technical, legal, financial, governance, social and communication support to our member organisations.

It is precisely this role that has enabled us to conceive, design and launch a new European project aimed at making the support we provide increasingly viable and effective. Here’s what it is about.

A European network of four support structures for energy communities

Energy communities need time, knowledge and resources to consolidate. Beyond developing specific renewable energy generation projects, we also need to address issues related to management, financing, communication, participation and the development of new services. These are areas that need to be handled professionally when volunteers do not have the time or the skills required.

It is in this context that SOSS4EREC (Sustainable One-Stop-Shops for European Renewable Energy Communities) has been launched. The project aims to strengthen the structures that support energy communities in their day-to-day work.

The project officially kicks off in Rome on 29 September and will work with four One-Stop Shops that bring together or support several communities within a shared service framework, across four European regions. One of them is, naturally, ours, while the others are Newton in Italy, AURA in France and Enerkom in the Czech Republic. Together, these organisations support more than 160 energy communities and are at different stages of development and consolidation. SOSS4EREC will make use of this diversity to share experiences, identify common needs and improve the support models we offer in our respective territories.

The project also brings together organisations with expertise in financial, technological and social matters, as well as institutional policy, bringing the consortium to a total of eleven partners. In addition to OECOOP, two other Catalan organisations are part of the consortium: Fundació Europace and IREC.

Sharing knowledge to redefine services

Over the next three years, the project partners will work together to analyse and improve the strategic, technical, legal, economic, administrative and social support services we provide to energy communities, particularly in relation to photovoltaic and battery projects, energy flexibility, district heating and cooling networks, and building renovation.

This process of reviewing and defining services will not take place centrally, but with your participation. The project will establish local working groups where beneficiary communities will be able to share their real needs and identify opportunities to contribute to making these services viable.

Another important part of the project will be to share knowledge among the participating organisations. Through mentoring processes, exchanges of experience and the involvement of experts, we will seek solutions that can be useful beyond each individual territory. At the same time, each support structure will be able to test new services and methodologies with its communities, adapting them to local needs and circumstances.

The ultimate goal, however, is for the knowledge generated to go beyond the organisations directly involved in the project. Among other resources, the project will produce a service catalogue for energy communities, a management guide for support structures, communication materials on innovative services and, ultimately, policy recommendations to promote the development of energy communities at European level through dedicated support structures.

Assessing viability

SOSS4EREC also aims to contribute to making these support structures more sustainable in the medium and long term. To this end, the project will work with Rescoop and Go Parity on key issues such as the financing and business models of each service, capacity building for OSSs, the creation of new shared services and reaching new communities and territories.

It is clear that the viability of cooperatives and that of support structures are closely interconnected. This is particularly important for OSSs that do not have stable public funding or energy communities with recurring income.

Following the successful experience of this year’s working group on membership recruitment, the latest OECOOP General Assembly approved the creation of a working group on viability, which will start in 2027. The collaborative work developed through SOSS4EREC provides an ideal framework for taking this initiative forward.

Ultimately, for OECOOP members, SOSS4EREC is an opportunity to assess the services provided by OECOOP and shape a catalogue that contributes to the long-term sustainability of your support structure.

The knowledge, tools and new services that we will develop over the next three years —together with European organisations working in different contexts and at different stages of maturity— will translate into better, more comprehensive and more sustainable support for your local projects.

Because, ultimately, this is how we understand the energy transition: building it from the ground up, through networks and cooperation. With SOSS4EREC, we are taking this approach one step further, building alliances at European level to continue growing together and strengthening the citizen energy movement.

We will keep you informed of every step forward.

VEC studies: Questions for Lluçol ​​and Santjoanina

Sharing Vehicles, Sharing Energy: Energy Communities Explore New Mobility Models

22-09-2026

The transition towards more sustainable mobility is not only about replacing combustion-engine vehicles with electric ones. It also means rethinking how we use vehicles and whether every person or family needs to own one.

In this context, energy communities are becoming spaces to explore new models of shared mobility. With this aim, [OECOOP] has analysed the interest and needs of eight local energy communities, with the support of Som Mobilitat, to assess the potential implementation of shared electric vehicle services.

Broad interest in more sustainable mobility

The study collected 275 responses through two surveys conducted between March and May 2026, with the participation of eight communities in Osona, Ripollès, Lluçanès, Alt Penedès and Barcelonès.

Despite the differences between territories, more than 80% of respondents expressed an interest in exploring more sustainable mobility options. At the same time, the study highlights a strong reliance on private vehicles in rural areas, where more than 88% of respondents use a car for their daily journeys.

In many of these communities, owning two or more vehicles is also common. This is where shared electric vehicles can offer one of their main opportunities: not necessarily as an alternative to owning a car, but as a way of reducing the number of cars people own.

Fewer cars, more shared use

The case of the Lluçol energy community in Lluçanès illustrates this reality. 98% of respondents regularly travel by private car and almost half —49%— own two or more vehicles.

Lluçol considers that a shared vehicle could help reduce the number of cars in the municipality, while taking into account the reality of the territory: the lack of public transport means that many people continue to rely on cars for their regular journeys.

In Sant Joan de les Abadesses, where the Santjoanina energy community is involved, the reflection follows a similar line. With a very high rate of car ownership and many families owning two or three vehicles, they consider that for a shared vehicle service to be viable, people would need to give up at least their third car and, if possible, their second as well. A vehicle that is rarely used still generates fixed costs —such as leasing, insurance and energy— which can make keeping it as a privately owned vehicle inefficient.

Thus, in rural areas, shared electric vehicles are not necessarily based on the possibility of doing without a car, but rather on the need to optimise its use and reduce, where possible, the number of underused vehicles.

What could shared vehicles be used for?

The OECOOP study shows that the most requested vehicle model is a small passenger car with a range of around 300 kilometres, primarily intended for occasional and flexible use.

However, specific needs vary from one territory to another. Santjoanina points out that private cars remain important in rural areas because they provide a degree of freedom of movement that is difficult to replace. Shared vehicles, on the other hand, can make sense for occasional journeys: travelling to Ripoll or Vic, going to the doctor or meeting other specific needs.

They do not consider shared vehicles an appropriate option for daily commuting, however, as reserving a vehicle for the entire working day would make the service less economically attractive. The planning required to use a shared vehicle also does not always fit urgent or unforeseen needs.

The community as a key element

Beyond mobility habits, the study also shows that there is a community base capable of supporting the project. In Lluçol, 77% of respondents to the second survey said they were willing to devote between two and five hours per month to looking after the vehicles.

The community considers that this figure shows a willingness to share and take on collective responsibilities, while also pointing out that it remains to be seen whether this willingness can translate into a viable project: sharing a vehicle in a rural area is not straightforward.

For this reason, implementing the service requires much more than simply making an electric vehicle available to the public. The study has also analysed the economic viability of the project and the charging point, as well as aspects such as location, power capacity, grid connection and the possibility of making use of the energy generated by the energy community itself.

The project is now entering a new phase: working with the 102 people who have already expressed an interest, establishing partnerships with local stakeholders and defining the shared vehicle model that best suits each community.

Ultimately, the challenge is not only to electrify mobility, but to make it more shared, efficient and adapted to the needs of each territory.

The New European Citizen Energy Package 

18-09-2026

Reducing energy bills, tackling energy poverty and giving citizens a greater say. These are some of the objectives of the new Citizen Energy Package presented by the European Commission on 10 March 2026, in response to the impact of rising fossil fuel prices and the need to move towards a fairer and more resilient energy system.

But behind these good intentions lies a key question: does the package have enough weight to deliver on its ambitions?

This non-legislative initiative sets out recommendations for Member States to reduce energy bills, strengthen consumer rights, tackle energy poverty and facilitate citizen participation in the energy transition. The proposed measures include reducing VAT and other charges on energy bills, lowering network costs, promoting flexibility mechanisms and developing new financing options that would allow people to access renewable energy technologies without having to make a large upfront investment.

Energy communities at the heart of the package

One of the most significant elements of the package is its recognition of the role of energy communities. The European Commission highlights them as a tool for moving towards a model in which citizens are not only consumers, but also take part in producing and managing energy.

The package proposes the development of a future Action Plan for Energy Communities, with the aim of multiplying citizen-owned generation capacity tenfold and reaching 90 GW by 2030. It also proposes providing guidance to Member States so that they can develop frameworks that facilitate the creation and consolidation of these initiatives.

This push comes at a time when energy communities can play a particularly relevant role. They make it possible to generate renewable energy locally, retain part of the economic benefits within the territory and bring different actors — citizens, public administrations, small businesses and organisations — together to participate in the energy transition.

The proposal’s weak point: it is voluntary

However, as the partners of the MUSE-DHC project point out, the package may not go far enough. Its main weakness is that it does not establish binding targets or implementation and monitoring mechanisms. To a large extent, the proposed measures depend on national governments’ willingness to put them into practice.

This is particularly relevant for energy communities. Although the European Union already has a legislative framework recognising their role, implementation has been uneven across Member States. Without clear obligations, sufficient resources and monitoring mechanisms, there is a risk that good intentions will not translate into effective local deployment.

The MUSE-DHC consortium also highlights another challenge: financing. Energy communities, particularly when developing complex projects such as renewable district heating and cooling networks, need resources during the early stages of development, when they are not yet generating income. The new package refers to existing European financing instruments, but does not introduce new dedicated sources of funding.

Finally, the project partners’ analysis highlights the risk of corporate capture: projects promoted by private companies that may present themselves as energy communities without genuinely complying with principles of participation and citizen ownership. Ensuring that public resources reach genuinely community-led initiatives will therefore be another challenge in implementing the package.

From words to action

The Citizen Energy Package puts an important idea on the table: the energy transition is also a matter of rights, participation and social justice. Reducing energy bills and dependence on fossil fuels also means giving citizens greater capacity to produce, manage and make decisions about energy.

But for this change to happen, energy communities need more than institutional recognition. They need supportive frameworks, funding, technical assistance and binding political commitments.

The challenge for the years ahead is therefore to turn European ambitions into concrete tools that enable people and communities to become active participants in the energy transition.

Renovating Buildings Through Energy Communities 

18-09-2026

The energy transition is not only about generating renewable energy: it is also about reducing the amount of energy we need in our daily lives. In this context, the energy renovation of residential buildings is a major opportunity to move towards a more efficient model, reduce energy consumption and improve comfort in our homes. However, carrying out a renovation can be complex: it requires understanding the condition of buildings, identifying the most appropriate measures, involving property owners and finding ways to finance the investment. This is where energy communities can play a key role.

21 OECOOP communities leading the way

As part of the Solarcoop grant programme, OECOOP has enabled Suno renovation studies to be carried out in fourteen energy communities.

In parallel, the European MUSE-DHC project addresses building renovation through the development of district heating and cooling networks, working with two additional OECOOP energy communities.

Finally, through the European COLOUR project, OECOOP is supporting five member energy communities in developing collective renovation processes in their municipalities.

COLOUR: from assessment to action

COLOUR is a consortium made up of the Fundació Europace, the Catalan Institute for Energy Research (IREC) and OECOOP. The project is built around a clear idea: energy communities can go beyond renewable energy generation and become collective actors capable of driving the energy transformation of buildings and their municipalities.

The communities currently involved in the process are Gurb Energia, Energia comunitària Penedès-Garraf, Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, Prades de la Molsosa and L’Electra Vallenca.

As part of this initiative, the first step has been to analyse the housing stock using cadastral data and territorial indicators, in order to identify which buildings have the greatest potential or need for improvement. This initial assessment provides a general overview of the territory and, from there, makes it possible to start working with interested households. In some cases, such as Gurb Energia, this process has already generated significant interest: almost 30 households have expressed an interest in taking part in individual energy audits.

The process from assessment to renovation works is gradual. Household energy audits provide a more detailed understanding of each home and help determine which renovation measures may be most appropriate. But the aim is not simply to analyse each home in isolation. When similar needs are identified across several homes, grouped renovation measures can be explored to facilitate procurement, reduce costs and make the works more feasible. At the same time, OECOOP’s support for the communities is essential to adapt the process to their specific circumstances, organisational capacity and pace.

The ultimate challenge will be turning renovation proposals into actual building works. To achieve this, the project is also working to identify public funding opportunities and explore financing solutions that can reduce the financial burden on households.

OECOOP Social Gathering on 13 June 2026  

19-05-2026

OECOOP will be taking part in the European Sustainable Energy Week, Europe’s largest annual event dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency, taking place from 9 to 11 June.

In this context, we are organising the social event “Building Networks: Building Energy!”, a gathering designed to strengthen connections between energy communities and share experiences, challenges, and opportunities within the sector.

The event will be opened by Anna Camp, from ICAEN, and representatives of the Mayor’s Office of Vic City Council.

The programme will continue with two roundtable discussions:

• Balancing Our Finances: An Ongoing Challenge. A space to reflect on the financial challenges faced by energy communities, featuring Nuno Brito, from Goparity; Ramon Roig. The session will be moderated by Ermen Llobet.

• “We’re Doing It!” Collective Energy Renovation. A discussion on real-life experiences in collective energy renovation, with Jordi Ayats, from the Fundació Europace; Jordi Pascual, from IREC; Júlia González, and Carmel Carrillo. The session will be moderated by Rafel Florenciano.

The event will continue with an interactive session on member recruitment and engagement, facilitated by Fil a l’Agulla and presented by Eugeni Vila. All Catalan energy communities are welcome to join!

In addition, throughout the day, Som Mobilitat will offer electric vehicle test drives for attendees.

The gathering will conclude with a community lunch exclusively for OECOOP members, including a toast led by Anna Puig, from CoopCat, before the General Assembly.

We look forward to seeing you there!

New legislation for an ecosystem with greater local self-consumption 

27-03-2026

The Royal Decree-Law 7/2026, approved on March 26, goes beyond a mere response to the energy crisis, promoting a more local, electrified, and participatory model. 

This article reflects on these emergency policies and their impact on the transition toward a decentralized system based on energy communities. 

Mitigating the socioeconomic impact of energy prices

Chapters one and two of Title I of the decree-law, concerning energy measures, follow a clear logic: to immediately alleviate the impact of the energy price crisis on households and productive sectors. The new package includes stimulating incentives, such as a reduction of VAT on electricity, gas, and fuels from 21% to 10%, the extension of the electricity social bonus until 2026, a ban on supply cuts for vulnerable households, and various industrial subsidies.

Scaling up self-consumption

Another major pillar of the Royal Decree-Law is the consolidation of self-consumption as a structural reality of the national electricity system. Final provision fourteen redefines the concept of nearby generation facilities. The key novelty is that photovoltaic or wind installations of up to 5 MW may be located up to 5 km from consumers. 

Previously, an intermediate distance of up to 2 km was allowed, but with restrictions that limited its real operability. The decree-law simplifies and expands this framework, enabling more consumers to participate in a single installation a key measure, especially in peri-urban and urban environments.

Other transformative measures

The approved measures also introduce relevant adjustments in the field of self-consumption which, although less visible than fiscal measures, can be transformative if implemented ambitiously:

• Administrative simplification: reduction of procedures for shared installations, currently one of the main bottlenecks.

• Improvements in surplus compensation: moves toward more flexible mechanisms to maximize the value of energy not consumed instantly, particularly beneficial for collective projects.

• Storage and flexibility: become key elements for optimizing distributed generation.

• Digitalization and smart management: promotion of smart meters and dynamic energy-sharing systems.

Energy communities gain prominence

If self-consumption scales up, this decree places energy communities at the center of institutional focus. 

It is particularly interesting to examine Chapter Three, which addresses urgent measures for the agile and socially integrated deployment of renewable energy. It includes the creation of Renewable Acceleration Zones (on land) for building renewable generation facilities.

Articles 20 and 21 declare authorization procedures as urgent for reasons of public interest when they meet standards of social and territorial excellence, in which programs promoting energy communities or shared self-consumption play a significant role.

These articles highlight the importance of municipalities in a model where energy is produced and consumed locally, benefiting social projects, vulnerable citizens, and the territory.

Other supporting instruments for energy communities

At the same time, the package incorporates or strengthens other tools that may support local energy communities:

• Clearer legal recognition, facilitating their operation.

• Additional provision seventeen mandates the Government to approve, within three months, a regulatory royal decree for renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities defined in Law 24/2013.

• Priority access to grants and financing for collective renewable projects.

The threat of falling prices

As mentioned, the extension of the social bonus and the ban on supply cuts reinforce the idea of energy as a basic right, aligned with the philosophy of energy communities. However, it is also important to note that tax reductions lower energy bills and, as a result, may weaken one of the main incentives for collective self-consumption: economic savings.

In essence, if market energy becomes “artificially” cheaper, the return on investment in collective photovoltaic projects is delayed, making them less attractive.

Therefore, the elements discussed earlier are crucial to at least partially offset this disincentivizing effect of the general drop in prices.

An opportunity for OECOOP communities

Finally, we highlight the importance of additional provision nine of the new decree, which enables IDAE to launch a support program for Community Transformation Offices with a budget of €10 million.

We trust that our second-tier cooperative will be able to benefit from this measure, thus contributing more decisively than ever to the promotion and comprehensive support of our networked energy communities. We hope that this decree-law will provide a strong impetus to move forward with them toward a more just, local, collective, and sovereign energy ecosystem.