Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A holistic approach to sustainable energy development at regional

level: The RENERGY self-assessment methodology
Carmelina Cosmi a,n, Jolanta Dvarionienė b, Isabel Marques c, Senatro Di Leo a,
Giedrius Gecevičius b, Inga Gurauskienė b, Gisela Mendes c, Catarina Selada c
a
National Research Council of Italy—Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis CNR-IMAA, Potenza, Italy
b
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, K. Donelaičio str. 20, Kaunas, Lithuania
c
INTELI—Inteligência em Inovação, Centro de Inovação, Lisbon, Portugal

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The energy challenge is a complex issue that EU is facing. A sustainable, safe and competitive energy
Received 11 February 2014 supply and climate change mitigation are nowadays key priorities of EU energy policy and a need for
Received in revised form each EU Member State. Sustainable energy development at the regional level is a multiple and complex
31 March 2015
activity, involving various stakeholders and different measures. Three main thematic pillars, policy
Accepted 23 April 2015
Available online 16 May 2015
making, energy market and community involvement, have been identified as crucial in order to
implement effective and feasible policy and measures at the regional scale. In this framework, the
Keywords: initial assessment of regional energy systems is an essential step to set up customized sustainable energy
Sustainable development strategies. In the framework of the INTERREG IVC RENERGY project a structured methodology for the
Energy policy
initial assessment of local communities (Self-Assessment -SAA) was defined and applied to the analysis
Energy market
of the partners’ communities located in nine European Countries (Lithuania, Denmark, Italy, Portugal,
Community involvement
Renewable energy United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania) in order to outline the status of local energy
Energy efficiency infrastructures, renewable and energy efficiency potentials and to highlight the key issues to be
Self-assessment analysis exploited in the local implementation plans. The holistic approach of the SAA methodology is aimed
at characterising the energy systems in terms of policy background, energy uses and infrastructures as
well as market behaviour and community attitude for sustainable development, valorising the
interrelationships among the project thematic pillars.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
3. Data analysis, results and discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
3.1. Policy making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
3.2. SWOT analysis of policy making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
3.3. Market uptake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
3.3.1. Characterization of regional economies and energy systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
3.3.2. SWOT analysis of market uptake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
3.4. Community involvement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
3.4.1. Characterization of regional demography and communities’ awareness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
3.4.2. SWOT analysis of community involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

n
Correspondence to: National Research Council of Italy—Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis CNR-IMAA, C. da S. Loja, Tito Scalo, PZ, Italy.
Tel.: þ 39 971 427280; fax: þ39 971 427271.
E-mail address: carmelina.cosmi@imaa.cnr.it (C. Cosmi).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.094
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
694 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707

4. PEST analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704

5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706

1. Introduction strategies and to define shared policy measures. The development

of a comprehensive system of indicators could be therefore useful to
The strategy “Europe 2020” outlines the EU’s actions to address evaluate both the state of art and the progresses of the regional
climate change and the energy requirements and sets three head- energy systems towards a sustainable development.
line targets to be achieved by 2020: cut 20% greenhouse gas As concerns technology deployment, the assessment and com-
emissions, generate 20% energy from renewable sources and cut parison of the sustainability of different renewable energy technol-
20% energy consumption. The long term vision is to transform the ogies or energy plants is mostly based on multi-criteria analyses
EU into a competitive low carbon economy and in this framework and evaluation of associated uncertainties [52–55].
renewable energy and energy efficiency are essential because they Another important aspect is community engagement. It is a
allow reducing fossil fuels consumption and, consequently, CO2 matter of fact that sustainability become an urgent issue that
emissions and other greenhouse gases emissions (GHG). should be considered in the context of the everyday life, and the
Various models have been developed to tackle GHG emissions behaviours of an increasing number of people have a huge impact
mitigation while planning regional energy systems [1,2]. In parti- on resource consumption and environment [56]. On the other hand,
cular, to deal properly with the climate change, the current EU motivation and awareness of citizens can strongly support the
policy approach should focus on physical infrastructures, common achievement of the EU targets, improving energy efficiency and
accounting rules and an EU-wide approach to capacity markets fostering the adoption of RES technologies e.g. [57,58].
and renewables trading [3,4]. The preliminary literature analysis emphasise the need for a
In this framework, the local scale is a strategic dimension to holistic evaluation of the regional energy system in which the main
translate the EU political orientation into concrete actions due to components, policy, economy and market, community engagement
the decentralized nature of energy efficiency and renewable are valorised to support regional sustainability.
applications and the action plans can represent an opportunity This reference background was fundamental to define the Self—
to boost local economy through the implementation of EU direc- Assessment Analysis (SAA), a comprehensive methodology devised
tives [5–7]. in the framework of the INTERREG IVC Project “Regional Strategies
However, the complexity of the regional energy systems, the huge for Energy Conscious Communities—RENERGY [59] to perform an
difference between the EU countries, in terms of socio-economic [8], initial evaluation of the state of the art in 10 EU communities located
infrastructural and cultural conditions, the peculiar national and in nine European countries (Lithuania, Denmark, Italy, Portugal,
regional legislative framework, the multiple and different point of United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania). In
views of stakeholders [9–13] as well as the different backgrounds particular customised thematic checklists and questionnaires were
could hinder a successful implementation at a local scale of the EU defined to describe the geographical and infrastructural features as
directives. In addition to that it is necessary to consider the multiple well as the policy background, the energy uses, the market and the
aspects of sustainability [14,15,13]: in particular economic [16–23], community behaviour and attitudes. This holistic approach aimed at
political [24–28], environmental [29,30] and social [31] features. outlining a reference local energy system, highlighting the interrela-
Therefore the adoption of a holistic approach is of utmost importance tionships among the different components and pointing out the
to consider the main dimensions of energy sustainability as a whole, main differences between the countries by means of a common
exploiting synergies and feedback among the different components. methodology based on qualitative and quantitative indicators.
Sustainability of the regional energy systems have been ana- The main objective was to characterise the local communities
lysed in a period of the last decade from different point of views: in terms of resource potential (focusing on renewable) and to
sustainable energy supply systems [32,33]; sustainability of the highlight opportunities and threats, providing a thorough assess-
energy sector in a particular region [34]; integration of renewable ment for the development of tailored local action plans as well as
energy into the regional energy sector—as a tool for the imple- individuating the pivotal aspects for the transfer of knowledge
mentation of sustainable development strategies [17,35]; the among the project partnership.
management of energy demand [36–40] and sustainable energy
consumption [41,42].
Many studies were focused on the analysis of energy supply as 2. Methodology
one of the most important aspects in sustainable development. In
fact energy demand increase is closely related to the increase of An integrated planning and development process can effectively
population expansion and to economic growth [43,29]. In some support local sustainable development [60]. Integrated regional
studies suited energy indicators are selected and used for the energy planning is defined as “an approach to find environmentally
evaluation of the regional sustainability [44,45,30]. friendly, institutionally sound, social acceptable and cost-effective
The Covenant of Mayors represents at EU level the main political solutions of the best mix of energy supply and demand options for a
measure for the enforcement of sustainability principles at the local defined area to support long-term regional sustainable develop-
level, involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committed ment. It is a transparent and participatory planning process, an
to increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on opportunity for planners to present complex, uncertain issues in
their territories [46,4], which is based on implementation of Sustain- structured, holistic and transparent way, for interested parties to
able Energy Action Plans [47]. review, understand and support the planning decisions” [61].
There are many differences between various EU member coun- In literature several methods are available on the basis of the
tries, regarding energy models [48]. Therefore the assessment of the requirements and objectives of each phase of the planning process
regional energy systems is a starting point to find out the strengths and each method has potential strength points and limitations as
and weaknesses [49–51], in order to set up customized sustainable reported in [62], but none of these methods can be used alone to
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
fulfil the objectives. In the first phase of a planning process,
different methods can be used to perform an initial analysis of
the historical and the present situation as well as to integrate
quantitative data with a qualitative evaluation. Among these, the
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis,
the Brainstorming, the SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable,
Realistic and Timed) method, the Delphi method, the problem tree,
the value tree or objective hierarchy, the means-ends objective
network, the network of problems and PEST (Political, Economic,
Social, Technical) method are quite popular. An accurate quantita-
tive analysis of energy systems on local scale requires advanced
analysis tools, namely HOMER (the Hybrid Optimization Model for
Electric Renewables), DER-CAM (the Distributed Energy Resources
Customer Adoption Model), The Market Allocation model (MAR-
KAL) and The Integrated MARKAL/EFOM System (TIMES), RETScreen
Clean Energy Project Analysis Software and H2RES. [63].
The Self Assessment Analysis (SAA), devised and implemented in
the context of the RENERGY project, adopts a holistic approach
deeply rooted on the existing methodological background. In parti-
cular, the SAA integrates three renowned methodologies, the Adva-
nced Local Energy Planning—ALEP, the SWOT analysis (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and the PEST analysis
(Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis), to perform
an in depth investigation of the local systems that allows to point out
bottlenecks and opportunities to be taken into account for the
development of local action plans. The ALEP sets the general frame-
work to analyse the local energy systems and their macro-economic
framework focusing on energy uses, whereas the SWOT and PEST
methodologies analyse and integrate the quantitative information by
a qualitative assessment. The ALEP methodology was initially devel-
oped in the framework of the International Energy Agency—IEA
Implementing Agreement “Energy Conservation in Buildings and
Community Systems—ECBCS” [64]. It allows defining the optimal
pathways for sustainable development of energy systems taking into
account physical, environmental, energy, technological and financial
constraints as well as technology innovation. It combines long-term
strategic planning with detailed subsystems planning and is based on
the analytical representation of energy systems often utilising com-
puterised models. This methodology is nowadays widespread used in
many local communities [65] for energy-environmental planning as
well as to devise the energy-technology roadmaps for the achieve-
ment of strategic targets.
The SWOT analysis is typically used when a qualitative
evaluation of some aspects of energy system is needed (e.g.
different stakeholder groups and decision maker’s perspectives,
etc.) and is often an integral part of a combined methodology
[66]. The SWOT analysis is mainly used as a decision makers
support tool to develop energy supply strategies at the regional
level [65,51,67] or the construction of new energy plants [68] and
there are many examples of its utilisation in regional energy
planning [49,50].
The PEST analysis is concerned with the characterisation of four
main exogenous factors that could deeply influence the regional
energy system: Political, Economic, Social and Technological all
closely related to the project pillars. The PEST analysis looks at “big
picture” factors that might influence a decision, a market, or a
potential new business. The SWOT analysis explores these factors
at a business, product-line or product level. These tools comple-
ment one another and are often used together.
In a comprehensive planning framework, the self-assessment
analysis is addressed to:
– Characterize the territory (physical, environmental, infrastruc-
tural and socio-economic characterisation);
– Assess the legislative reference framework (EU, national and
regional);
695
– Identify the main challenges and expectations of the local
community;
– Identify the main stakeholders (policy makers, energy compa-
nies, local enterprises, non-governmental organisations, citi-
zens, etc.), their relationships and possible roles and
responsibilities in the planning processes;
– Identify previous initiatives, studies, territorial plans and good
practices;
– Identify the main planning objectives and the expected benefits
for the local community on different time frames.
The methodology set up in RENERGY takes advantage from the
potentiality of the three different methodological approaches to
characterise the main aspects of sustainable development related to
the project pillars: Policy and Governance; Market Uptake; Com-
munity Involvement. Different aspects, relevant for the exploitation
of renewable energy sources (RES) and energy efficiency (EE) at
regional level, were examined by means of extensive checklists and
questionnaires that focused on main issues related to the three
thematic dimensions.
The analytical approach adopted is based on a unique system of
indicators specifically developed in the framework of the RENERGY
project that allows an efficient evaluation of European country
regions with very different features. The methodological framework
is also useful to set up a structured database to be shared and
updated by different actors including the main data for the
characterisation and the periodical monitoring of energy system
performances.
The SAA consists of 3 major steps reported in Table 1: (1) Pre-
paration (selection of the basic methodology and indicators for
data collection and analysis); (2) Data Collection; (3) Data analysis
and Reporting.
The starting point of the SAA consists in the individuation of
data areas, indicators and data collection criteria. The selected set of
indicators constitutes the reference framework to collect the
quantitative information and to evaluate the state of art as well as
the basis to carry out a critical analysis of local Strengths, Weak-
nesses/Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) and
a Political, Economic, Social, and Technological strategical evalua-
tion (PEST analysis).
Data collection process is absolutely crucial to ensure the
quality of SAA results and the resulting local action plans. In the
RENERGY self-assessment methodology data collection is based on
two main tools:
1. Checklist—the basic tool for quantitative data collection includ-
ing the extensive list of indicators relative to the different
themes;
2. Surveys—a supplementary tool for the collection of qualitative
data. Questionnaires and interviews are used to collect data on
community opinion, behaviour etc., complementary to quanti-
tative data collected in the checklists.
According to the indicator/data type, the following methods for
data collection were considered and utilised in combination:
– Top-down—study of the existing relevant strategic and plan-
ning documents, legislation and statistics.
– Bottom-up – participatory approach – survey and interviews.
After data collection the next stage of SAA concerns data
analysis aimed at generating three SWOT matrices (one per each
theme) and a PEST matrix that constitutes an integral part of the
self-assessment analysis, highlighting the framework in which the
planning process is performed.
696 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707

Table 1
Flowchart of RENERGY self-assessment methodology.

SAA stage SAA step Outputs

Preparation 1. Identification and review of data areas and indicators/criteria for self-assessment List of data areas
2. Definition of the checklists and the questionnaires by theme List of indicators/criterions
3. Identification of the methodology framework for the survey (data collection methods, potential Thematic checklists
respondents for survey, questionnaires and interviews) Thematic questionnaires
4. Definition of guidelines for an effective and efficient performance of data collection Methodology for data collection
5. Initial diagnosis & Survey Lists of respondents
6. Data analysis (checklists and questionnaires): Guidelines and templates for the self-
 SWOT analysis assessment analysis
Data collection  PEST analysis Filled checklists and answers from
respondents
Data analysis and 7. Comparison of regional self-assessment analysis reports Self-assessment analysis reports including
reporting SWOT and PEST matrices
Synthesis report

Table 2
Strategies and measures concerning RES and EE development in selected regions.

Potenza (IT) Tulln (AT) Torre Vedras (PT) Worms (DE) Durham Jaslo (PL) Kaunas (LT) Avrig (RO)
and
Sheffield
(UK)

National Energy The Austrian Energy National Strategy for “Energiewende” energy ENERGY Polish Energy National Romanian
Strategy—SEN System 2000–2005– Energy 2020 Transformation Bill (29th Policy Energy Energy Laws
October 2012 2020–2025 Programme November Strategy —220/2008
2012)
Thermal bill— The Lower Austrian- National Renewable Erneuerbare–Energien– ENERGY Polish Energy Law Renewable National
Ministerial specific energy efficiency Energy Action Plan – Gesetz EEG (law on feed-in ACT 2011 Act Energy Electricity
Decree of 28 law 2012 (in compliance PNAER tariffs for renewable Sources Act and Heat
December 2012 of the EC Directive 2006/ electricity) Regulatory
32/E Authority
(ANRE)
“Development Lower Austria Energy National Action Plan for Eneuerbare–Energien– Green Deal National Reform National
Decree”—Decree Report 2011 Energy Efficiency Wärmegesetz EEWärmeG Programmes Energy
83 of 22 June (PNAEE) (in compliance (regulation for owners of (NRPs) in Complex
2012 of the EC Directive 2006/ newly erected buildings) compliance of Development
Incentives to 32/EC) Europe 2020 Plan
boost Energy strategy
efficiency
interventions
in buildings
Burden Sharing Climate program of National Strategy of Energieeinsparverordnung Energy National Lithuania Law
Ministry Decree 2009–2012 from Lower Climate Change ENEV (regulation on Company Development on Energy
of 15 March Austria Adaptation energy consumption for Obligation Program for Low
2012 – new and renovated Carbon Economy
buildings)
National Action CHP Directive “Climate protection and Climate Act on Energy Renewable
Plan (in energy efficiency concept Change Act Efficiency Resources
compliance of Worms” 2008 Energy Law,
the EC Directive
2009/28/RC)
June 2010
Green Certificates Legal framework for The UK 2-nd National National
(CVs)—Article 11 electric mobility Renewable Energy Efficiency Sustainable
of the Legislative Energy action Plan development
Decree 79/99 Strategy (NEEAP) strategy
Energy Efficiency UK Draft Act on RES National
Program in Public Renewable energy
Administration (ECO.AP) Energy (energy
Roadmap autonomy)
strategy
Public Contract Regime Law in heat
with the Energy Service sector, Electric
Companies (ESE) Energy Law,
Natural Gas
Low
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707 697

3. Data analysis, results and discussions
The individual diagnoses, reported in the regions’ Self-Assessment
Reports (SARs), were performed by means of customized checklists
and questionnaires investigating in depth the three project pillars,
Policy Making, RES Market uptake and Community Involvement.
SWOT and PEST analyses were performed in the end to identify the
challenges and the opportunities at regional level.
The surveys were addressed to three main stakeholders’
categories: local authorities, distributors and grid operators, com-
munity members (including citizens and NGOs).
In the following a summary of the results obtained from the
application of the methodology by country is reported, with
reference to the three project pillars.
3.1. Policy making
The analysis of the legislation was aimed at outlining the policy
background that supports the development of renewable, energy
efficiency and climate change mitigation concerning the following
issues:
 The analysis of national and regional policies as well as existing
territorial plans which constitute the backbone of the regional
implementations plans (in particular, to identify to what extent
the European legislation concerning a sustainable energy
development);
 The policy incentives and financial mechanisms that promote
renewable sources and energy efficiency deployment;
 The involvement of partners’ organizations in national and
international programs concerning renewable resources,
energy efficiency and climate mitigation issues.
In line with the European policy almost all regions have
adopted, in recent years, direct or indirect, strategies and measures
to reach or exceed the European goals concerning RES and EE
development, to increase community awareness as well as to
influence the dynamics of the energy market in order to promote
the exploitation of new activities and new businesses in these
fields (Table 2).
Table 3 summarises suited financial mechanisms, such as fiscal
incentives, taxation, subsidies to the investment, feed-in tariffs
and quota systems are foreseen in many countries to support RES
and EE exploitation.
The transposition of European policies at country level in general
has a higher economic impact on Eastern countries where a new
economic and politic paradigm has been affirmed after their acces-
sion to EU fostering the transition from centrally planned economies
to market economies. However, typically, the privatization process
have reinforced the financial position of their energy companies and
have increased the importance of the renewable energy sources, with
positive impacts on economic grow and employment.
Different behaviour can be observed among the different
countries. Jaslo, a Polish municipality, has neither implemented

Table 3
Main legislative provisions in force in RENERGY partners’ countries.

Main financial Potenza (IT) Tulln (AT) Torre Vedras (PT) Worms (DE) Durham and Jaslo (PL) Kaunas Avrig
measures Sheffield (UK) (LT) (RO)

Feed In Tariffs X X X X X X X
(Erneuerbare–
Energien–
Gesetz EEG)
Feed-in premium X (Energy Bill)
Quota systems (e. X X X X
g. Green (certificates
Certificates) of origin”
(Energy
Law, Article
9e)
Grant incentives Funding Subsidies granted by the Province X X X (Renewable X
on investments investment costs of Lower Austria linked to projects Innovation Support Heat Incentive;
a) Interventions (sustainable construction and Fund (FAI) for Renewable
aimed at refurbishment, energy concepts for Renewable Energy Heat Premium
increasing municipalities and investments (incentives) Payment
energy into energy saving for sports Energy Efficiency Fund Scheme)
efficiency facilities) (EEF)
b) Facilities for National fund to
renewable finance the programs
thermal and measures foreseen
energy under the PNAEE
production (taxation, incentives
and high and financing)
efficiency
systems

Fiscal incentives X (Building X (Enhanced

refurbishment) Capital
Allowance
Scheme)
Taxation and X X
tariffs
Mandatory X (Eneuerbare–
targets Energien–
Wärmegesetz
EEWärmeG)
698 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
sustainable development policies at urban level nor has devel-
oped strategies to improve the use of renewable energy and to
boost the energy efficiency. Nonetheless, the city authorities
consider important to support energy saving and RES use at
municipal level.
Romania has adopted a set of policies that advanced noticeably
the deployment of renewable, in particular wind energy. In fact,
Romania has implemented a smart system of incentives to attract
investments which includes a 16% flat income tax, a very stable
business environment; a solid banking system almost completely
privatized that includes many European and American banks as well
as financial contribution for job creation. Besides this global eco-
nomic strategy, Romania has adopted support mechanisms for the
energy market such as incentives for renewable energy developers;
mandatory annual quotas of electricity produced from renewable
sources that benefit from a support scheme; trade of green certifi-
cates and encouraged investments in the field of electricity produced
by RES, ensuring many facilities to support both the development of
new infrastructure as well as the refurbishment of the existing ones,
plus tax and duty exemptions or reductions for reinvested profit for a
period of 3 years from the launch of the investment; national
financial contributions for job creation.
Besides the structural changes in energy markets of the Eastern
European Countries, the RES and EE policies and initiatives have
also caused a visible impact also in the other European regions. For
example, in the municipality of Torres Vedras (Portugal) the wind
farms, promoted by the municipal authorities, are now a relevant
financial source of the municipal budget, with 630,000 Euro of
revenues from the wind parks in 2012. In fact, in Portugal a special
rate for wind energy, 2.5% on the monthly payment made by the
recipient entity of the electricity produced in each facility, reverts
to the municipalities to ensure a fair distribution of global benefits
between national and local level.
It also deserves to be mentioned the case of Durham. This UK
County was significantly affected by the decline of the employ-
ment during 1980s and mid-1990s due to the closure of coal
mines. However, between 1995 and 2008, employment declined
slowly and has increased in the last three years, driven by a growth
in electricity sector.
Another important impact in the UK was driven by the Green
Deal initiative, launched by the UK government and supported by
an Energy Company Obligation to stimulate a d14 billion retrofit
market. In fact, between 2008 and 2009, in the Durham County, a
percentage of houses higher than the UK average percentage were
isolated (cavity wall insulation; loft insulation). In more detail, the
number of homes with cavity wall insulation between April 2008
and April 2012 increased by 31% and the number of homes with a
minimum loft insulation of at least 125 mm has increased 47%.
Concerning the GHG emissions, Durham has developed the Low
Carbon Strategy and the Sustainable Energy Action Management
Plan that bring together several issues that need to be addressed. In
particular, they refer to actions that are required to be taken to
achieve the Council’s targets for reducing carbon emissions for its
own operations by 40% by 2015, as well as across the whole County
of Durham, where the target is to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020
(742,000 t).
At national level, the Climate Change Act 2008 set legally
binding targets to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by at least
34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, against a 1990 baseline.
In Italy, tax deductions are the main financial mechanism to
stimulate the implementation of energy saving measures on exist-
ing national real estate. In 2010, in Italy, 405,600 total practices
were compiled, with total investment exceeding 4.6 billion Euro
and with a total value of amounts deducted more than 2.5 billion
Euro. In particular, in the Potenza province these actions led to an
overall primary energy saving of more than 2000 GW h/year by
avoiding approximately 430 kt/year CO2 emissions into the
atmosphere.
The main interventions were aimed to replace the fixtures
(63%) with a total cost of 14,803,764 Euro and a deducted amount
of 8142,070.15 Euro. The installation of condensing pumps (24%)
and heat pumps (4%) for a more efficient dwelling heating allowed
the deduction of 3081,560.55 Euro. Minor interventions were
made relatively to installation of solar thermal and to thermal
insulation of buildings, both with regard to vertical and horizontal
structures.
In Worms (Germany) the renewable energy sector became
important for the labour market in the last years. In 2011
approximately 380,000 jobs subsisted in this field and a lot of
enterprises were active in this area. The RES diffusion percen-
tage in Worms was similar to the German on average, but a high
increase is foreseen in next year due to the operation of a new
wind park that was built in 2012. It was estimated that in 2012
60% of the households and 9% of the total city electricity
consumption were provided by RES. Concerning climate protec-
tion, the City of Worms runs a wide range of activities that are
all based on the “Climate protection and energy efficiency
concept Worms—Klik” concept. It was developed in several
working groups, starting in 2008, and approved by the city
council in 2010. The concept has two main goals: to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions in Worms by 10% every 5 years and to
supply electricity to the city using 100% of renewable sources
by 2030.
The city of Tulln in Austria has different committees for different
topics. The most important for energy policy is the “Environment,
Health & Finances” Committee, which elaborates and prepares
relevant topics. The results and findings of the Committee are
presented to the City Council which is responsible for political
decision-making. In addition, the Province also provides different
subsidies for the citizen’s EE-activities (e.g. PV, heat pumps, district
heating, thermal insulation, etc.). Subsidies granted by the Province
of Lower Austria are linked to projects, which have to follow its
funding guidelines for sustainable construction and refurbishment.
Lower Austria subsidizes energy concepts for municipalities and
investments into measures to save energy in the construction of
sports facilities (solar panels for generating hot water and for the
heating). Moreover, there is the objective that all building projects
have to be as energy efficient as possible.
In terms of market uptake, the regional level is quite challen-
ging due to the lack of reliable regional data as well as to not
coordinated interventions that would need an integrated approach
to the whole business chain. In fact, most of the European financial
schemes that support technology innovation and boost EE and RES
at local level were not implemented in the analysed regions, and
most of the incentives reported are a mere replication of national
measures. Italy represents the only exception because the national
legislative framework is applied by the administrative regions and
this allows some degree of freedom to set regional specific targets
and additional rules. However, incentives on both RES and EE are
rather different between countries, the only horizontal procedure
being the feed-in tariff schemes RES energy. Fiscal incentives
(widely applied to boost EE and technology innovation) and
taxation is the most widespread processes across all the project’s
regions.
3.2. SWOT analysis of policy making
Among the different initiatives, most of the partner’s munici-
palities are signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, one of the most
important initiatives involving local and regional authorities all
around Europe, voluntarily committed to increase energy efficiency
and use of renewable energy sources on their territories in order to
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective
by 2020. In particular, the Potenza Province and the Association of
Municipalities Polish Network “Energie Cités” (PNEC) are support-
ing structure of the Covenant of Mayors, leading municipalities
towards an increased awareness on energy-environmental issues
and the implementation of sustainable action plans (SEAPs). At the
same time, other partners are involved in relevant EU programs and
projects focused on EE and RES enhancement and participate
voluntarily to initiatives and networks sponsored both by the EU
and the national and local authorities to facilitate the achievement
of 2020 energy and climate targets.
There are a variety of policy initiatives promoting the imple-
mentation of RES and EE, but in many cases measures may not
achieve objectives because they are not appropriately addressed
and integrated in regional and holistic strategies. It is found a lack
of specific energy and climate territorial plans in most of the
partners’ communities. As is well known, the regions lacking of
regional strategies has less potential to implement the specific
national and EU level strategies at the regional level than the
regions having the concrete targets related to RES and EE defined
in strategic and action plans.
It is also found that is essential to discuss and decide clearly the
priorities and objectives at the regional policies because they are
the foundation for the concrete actions to be developed and
implemented at the region. Indeed high priorities would be
transferred to the concrete activities and they have direct impact
to the development of sustainable energy systems. The regions
which declare the sustainability or green economy as the main
strategy, has more potential to force sustainability in all sectors of
economy, including the energy sector. However, small municipali-
ties on the territory generally have scarce competences in the field
of energy-environmental planning and mitigation strategies.
Simultaneous, the coordination of efforts (between policy, mar-
ket and community) may lead to a higher success increasing the
cooperation. The variety of initiatives needs to be coordinated, with
the initial evaluation on the human and financial resources for the
successful implementation. The initiatives and efforts should be
based on the needs of the region; therefore each municipality has to
evaluate the state of the art in the specific issue.
Acceptance and reliance of policy initiatives by other stake-
holders is an important aspect that should be ensured and a
systematic approach to the management of the municipality issues
helps to avoid disjunction between different areas of the munici-
pality activities and different stakeholders. Moreover, interregional
cooperation within the projects and other activities is important
for the improvement of the policy in the particular region.
In general, the regions face limited financial resources to
implement EE and RES policies and legislative instability charac-
terized by continuous changes both in the regulations and incen-
tive system. The lack of incentives and legislation could cause the
barriers for efficient implementation of EE and RES measures.
Moreover, the periodical changes of the municipality officers,
policy forces and mayors have a direct impact on a consistent
development of energy systems.
Corruption at national and local government level is also a very
important factor making the groundless barriers for sustainable
energy development at regions. It is more typical at the new
members of EU.
Therefore, the regions face important opportunities to force or
stimulate them to drive the energy and climate policy at local
level: (i) high energy prices can boost EE interventions (ii) burden
sharing targets (iii) integration and harmonization of the energy
planning needs with the territorial planning strategies and (iv)
networking and transfer of knowledge fostered by the involve-
ment in RES and EE programmes.
The main results of SWOT Analysis are summarized in Table 4.
699
3.3. Market uptake
The market uptake of RES and EE is of extreme importance for
the definition and adjustment of energy strategies for regional
areas of the EU. The information below gathers the highlights
provided by several regions. The analysis was focused on the
following aspects:
 Economic characterization of the regions;
 Characterization of the regional energy systems (energy supply
—current and future; energy dependency; energy demand;
consumers’ needs and interests; energy price trends);
 Barriers and opportunities.
3.3.1. Characterization of regional economies and energy systems
The RENERGY’s regions present different weights on the differ-
ent economic sectors. Despite industry and commerce/services
contribute greatly to the local economy, each region has a quite
different economic structure, thereby it is not possible to come out
with single integrated conclusions. Accordingly, each region should
however consider thoroughly its specific economic structure when
formulating its energy strategies. The regions show evidences of
enough human resources for reinforcing the referred economic
structure by developing a new sector based on RES and EE activities.
Unemployment rate in the analysed regions varies from 4% to
12% in 2011. The assessment shows that larger regions have lower
unemployment rate (Sheffield city region, Durham County) than
smaller regions (PNEC (12%), Worms (about 12.5%)). Notwithstand-
ing, vast regions like Kaunas (9%) and Potenza (about 11%) exhibit
higher unemployment rate thansmall communities such as Slagelse
(7%). Anyway, the unemployment rates are in line with EU unem-
ployment average rate (around 10%).
In terms of energy systems characterization, the analysis shows
that the energy supply is quite distinctive among the regions/
countries reflecting the internal energy policies, endogenous
resources and the degree of the market liberalization.
For what heat is concerned, only the regions with high indus-
trialization levels or with considerable domestic heat need have
centralized heating district solutions and markets. All the others
regions do not present a differentiated strategy for this energy
component.
Most markets with high heat needs, rely on biomass (increas-
ing significantly its overall RES share) or coal (opposite situation).
On average, for the analysed regions, a quarter of the heat demand
is supplied by gas.
For what electricity is concerned, there are two types of
regions. On the one hand, regions with high hydro and wind
resources namely Portugal, Austria and Denmark; on the other
hand, the regions with a high share of nuclear, coal and gas such as
the UK, Romania and Germany.
Generally the EU trend indicates a decline on the use of coal
and nuclear energy, whereas the share of RES is being intensified,
namely wind, biomass and solar on this order of relevance.
All partner-regions have reported an adjusted balance between
consumption and supply. In most cases, the distribution and
transportation infrastructure is somehow deficient and need to be
upgraded quickly, namely new capacity. This makes an interesting
case for the barriers to the new added capacity, namely in RES and
the consequences it may have in the existing power plants and
resistance to its dismantling. On the other hand, regions are energy
dependent from abroad, therefore, in spite of adding new capacity,
it might be more fruitful to improve local power plants that use
endogenous energy resources.
700 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
Table 4
SWOT analysis for policy making.
Strength
 National and local policy to take in EU priorities on RES and EE
 Existence of energy and environment departments in many countries
 Existence of burden sharing targets
 Local sustainable development plans in many countries
 Local voluntarily commitment to go beyond the EU 2020 targets
Opportunities
 Clear vision and goal definitions on RES and EE
 Integration of energy and territorial planning strategies
 Policy initiatives on RES and EE can support a “smart community” vision
 Involvement in relevant EU programs and projects focused on EE and RES
Another interesting aspect concerning to the barriers of the
installation of new capacity is related to the domestic production,
which seems to offer a shortcut to increase the RES share at a
sustainable pace.
Finally, there seems to be a puzzling aspect related to the
endogenous resources available in the regions and its exploration.
For example, southern countries (like Portugal), where solar irra-
diance is higher, are not taking advantage of such potential to
increase the share of renewable on its energy mix. The regions
reporting higher installed PV power, are northern regions where
these investments would generate lower yields. Biomass (especially
in regions with higher heat demand) and waste for energy
valorisation seem to gather consensus in terms of its potential
and strategic lines are being developed or reinforced.
A special remark should be made on wind power, its potential and
wide acceptance: despite the relative maturity of the technology and
the potential revelled in most countries, this technology seems to have
reached its threshold in the regions where the incentives for such a
source has been in force for longer (Portugal, Germany, Austria, etc.)
while eastern regions seem to be still able to reinforce the share of this
technology. However the slowdown of the sector (which relates not
only to the crisis but to the area availability and community consensus)
seems to go against the 2050 scenarios of the shares of this source of
energy (much higher than it seems possible from the reports).
It is also useful to evaluate the region and country supply
comparing with the dependency levels associated. Regions or
countries with higher dependency levels might have further incen-
tive to increase their supply levels if that supply replaces sources of
energy that at any point of the energy value chain required an
imported commodity. Among the partner countries, Italy, Lithuania
and Portugal are the ones with dependency levels above 65%. Only
Poland and UK require less than 50% of its supply from imports and
Denmark presents a positive commercial energy balance.
As concerning energy consumption, industry, households and
transportation are the greatest energy consuming sectors. Being
industry an important economic sector among the regions, the
implementation of energy efficiency measures will contribute
definitely to make it more competitive.
Regarding energy types, electricity and natural gas are present
on the energy mixes of the regions, however, some of them have
also declared huge consumptions of coil and oil.
Energy consumption has been decreasing during the last years
in most of the regions. They affirmed that the principal reason is
the economic crisis. Nevertheless, some of them identified energy
efficiency measures as a result of this trend which is a very
impressive and important factor. This means that many regions
have already been worried and have been implementing measures
regarding energy efficiency.
Weaknesses
 RES growth dependency on policies and incentives
 Legislative instability and unclear regulatory and legal framework
 Decreasing feed‐in tariffs and lengthy approval process for permits and certificates
 Too much policy/legislation clouding issues
 Lack of autonomy at local level for the creation of ad hoc RES policies
 Lack of specific integrated sustainable development plans and policies
 Lack of co‐ordination between different governmental bodies
Threats
 Policy and measures may not achieve objectives if not appropriately addressed
 Change in local political leadership
 Scarce competences of small municipalities in energy environmental issues
 Difficulty in policy assessment
 Town planners do not see relevance of smart urban (sustainable) planning
In fact, the implementation of renewable energy systems and
the use of renewable energy sources are important because the
prices of fossil fuel are increasing dramatically. The external energy
dependence is also an important issue for most of the countries.
Therefore, the consumption of energy and consequently the energy
bill should be reduced, independently of the economic crises, and
EE measure is the best way to achieve this goal.
To characterise consumers’ needs and interests surveys and
questionnaires were given and analysed. This analysis revealed that
almost all regions are aware about renewable energies sources and
measures for energy efficiency. They also agree on implementing
RES and EE that are important for the regions´ sustainability.
The surveys also demonstrate that the regions support solar
thermal, PV, wind, hydro and waste incineration. Biomass, geothermal,
and district heating systems are also popular among the consortium
regions. Nuclear power is the only energy source that is not approved
by the population in general. Therefore, the market should bet in those
energy sources because they are well accepted.
The communities agree that RES should be implemented not
only in towns but also in buildings; therefore markets should have
prepared themselves in this scope with feasible solutions.
Concerning the energy prices, it is quite interesting to notice
that the difference among countries members is somehow related
to the tax structure of electricity in each country, since the base
price (without taxes) is similar. Denmark, Germany and Portugal
are the countries with the highest tax weight on final electricity
prices. Gas prices follow a similar pattern, except for Germany
where it is relatively lower when compared to other countries.
3.3.2. SWOT analysis of market uptake
The main conclusion of this analysis (Table 5) is that, among
many other aspects that will be discussed below, the European
market approach is still individual and disconnected from the EU
reality. Synergies among the countries and integrated strategies
are still a far reality. Energy dependency is a common problem to
many European regions and countries. Europe is a continent with
few fossil fuels resources and, presently, a frozen economy, which
seems halted the RES action plan in motion a few years ago.
Despite previous efforts, the economy does not show signs of
incorporation of the energy sector, especially SMES and more
interior regions. The moment seems propitious for a downscaling
of the RES economy and promotion of decentralized production,
spreading technologies down to the retail level.
Simultaneously, the community is not so confident about some
energy solutions such as tidal, waste incineration, geothermal,
combined heat and power and district heating. Thus, it is neces-
sary to demonstrate the benefits of technologies/initiatives/
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
Table 5
SWOT analysis for market uptake.
Strength
 High potential of RES (biomass, geothermal, wind energy, solar) and favorable
natural conditions for their exploitation in most of countries
 High exploitation potential of EE measures in buildings (in particular
insulation)
Opportunities
 Decreasing prices and increasing performances of RES technologies
 Innovative financing models for the implementation of RES/self-consumption
on a small scale, such as ESCO models and regional/local carbon funds
 Possible revenues deriving from land leasing for RES installations (wind,
solar, etc.)
 Implementation of public procurement procedures for energy services in the  Low-key interest of big energy suppliers to the exploitation of sustainable energy, as
public sector
 Preparation and implementation of a coherent support strategy for the
development of local business in the field of sustainable energy
 Financial support for buildings refurbishment can improve real estates
 Creation of new jobs and investment opportunities fostered by RES and EE
exploitation
concepts for the citizens and for the national economy, particularly
in terms of growth and jobs creation to support the initiatives
based on a market perspective.
Notwithstanding, installing RES technologies is considered too
expensive and there is some uncertainty about the payback time.
This makes the situation worse because most of the citizens do not
know their energy consumptions, and this represent another
important market barrier.
At the same time the scarce financial resources existing in the
European economies to finance new investments hamper the
development of new solutions based on RES and EE. However,
despite the European economic crisis discourage investments in the
economy as a whole it encourages the rational use of energy which
costs are traditionally very high.
As concerns renewable deployment, hydro, wind and large solar
plants have almost exhausted their potential, with the exception of
Eastern countries. Decentralized PV and biomass currently gather
the greatest consensus in terms of market opportunities and
priorities in the local and regional strategies. The implementation
of EE measures in buildings (in particular, insulation) have still an
high exploitation potential and is one of the strategic priorities
promoted in most of the partners’ regions, also boosted by the
increasing prices of energy.
The market opportunities among the several regions of the
project present significant differences based on:
(i) The development levels (growth rate and GDP);
(ii) Energy needs (cooling versus heating);
(iii) Available endogenous resources;
(iv) Housing efficiency levels (construction characteristics);
(v) Subsidies, incentives and policies in place.
The perception of the opportunities among the regions of the
project vary significantly even within the same country. Some
conclusion can be extrapolated:
 Hydropower seems to be exhausted with the exception of small
hydro plants;
701
Weaknesses
 Economic pressures could marginalize low carbon policy
 Financing markets, less opportunity due to economic situation
 Limited national and local financial resources to implement EE and RES policies
 Excessive reliance from fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, oil) for energy production and
still low levels of renewable energy source in energy consumption
 Resistance against RES from the fossil fuel business sector
 Electricity transmission could be a problem due to old and outdated infrastructure
and decentralized supply of RES installations
Threats
 Global financial crisis potentially affecting power plant operators via credit
requirements
 Difficulty of predicting future energy prices (fossil & RES).
 Reliance of new initiatives upon market forces
 Unsuccessful applications of grants
fossil fuels revenues are significantly higher than renewable energy ones
 Increasing environmental problems caused by an unsustainable use of resources
 Lack of sufficient endogenous resources
 Energy and social poverty
 Wind opportunities are limited to large scale and on eastern
countries (with the exception of Durham);
 Solar opportunities, especially PV gathers one of the greatest
(only overcame by biomass) consensus and except for Slagelse,
it was identified as a clear opportunity;
 Except for Worms and Slagelse biomass gathers the strongest
opportunity consensus among all the regions.
Markets with a longer history in promoting RES have somehow
exhausted the large-scale potential not due to the lack of resources
but due to technical (grid congestion in Portugal) and territorial
aspects (buffer zones in UK). It is then an observable trend that the
markets seem to start by exploiting the large scale, namely wind,
then move to solar of a smaller scale and finally move to the
promotion of decentralized production, namely domestic. Coun-
tries that seem to have exhausted the large scale are UK, Italy,
Germany, Portugal and Denmark. Romania, Lithuania, Hungary
and Poland seem to have still space for larger RES power plants.
3.4. Community involvement
The analysis of community involvement (CI) about the RES and
EE issues in the RENERGY project partners regions has been
performed using the indicators list and survey based on a common
questionnaire form. The reports of project partners, i.e. SAA—Self
Assessment Report, have been analysed in order to identify the
accomplishment rate of EE measures and practices of CI in different
regions. The analysis of CI in RES and EE sectors in different regions
is made based on the following data areas:
i) Demography;
ii) Awareness;
iii) Behaviour
iv) CI activities (initiatives).
In terms of local community involvement, the results show that the
analysed regions are highly distinct according to demographic situa-
tion, cultural characteristics, buildings stock, residents’ behaviour,
energy awareness level and local initiatives on EE and RES promotion.
702 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
Nevertheless, there is unambiguous feedback on fundamental issues.
Most of the regions show a strong opposition to nuclear and most
renewable technologies are considered expensive. There is still a lack
of information on new technologies even if energy and climate change
awareness is quite satisfactory. In this framework, energy efficiency
measures are the most popular and arouse a great consensus in all the
local communities.
3.4.1. Characterization of regional demography and communities’
awareness
By analysing the demography of the partners regions, it was
concluded that they represent distinct territories in terms of
population, quality of life and building stock. Avrig and Slagelse
are the smaller cities, with respectively 14,000 and 78,000 inhabi-
tants, while Sheffield City Region (1819,500 inhabitants), Durham
County (496,000 inhabitants) and Kaunas city (330,700 inhabitants)
are the largest cities among the analysed cities. Sheffield is also the
city where population density is greater, with 3949 inhabitants/
km2, corresponding to about 2 times the population density
recorded in Kaunas (2106 inhabitants/km2), the second city in
terms of population density.
To explain this situation, it can be observed that these cities are
very big and population is growing in the district region. Jaslo and
Worms are medium size cities that have similar density (respec-
tively 1011 and 751 inhabitants/km2). Potenza Province is situated
in hills, so it has a lowest population density (58 inhabitants/km2).
Torres Vedras, Slagelse and Tulln city have low density population
(respectively 195, 132, 102 inhabitants/km2).
Concerning the number of residents per household, the results
show that Kaunas, Sheffield and Potenza regions exhibit similar
values (respectively 2.45; 2.3; 2.5). Smaller residents densities in
households are found in Torres Vedras and Worms with 1.7 and
1.6 residents per household. The biggest density of residents per
household is recorded in Jaslo, with 3,1 residents/household.
Although Potenza region, Kaunas and Sheffield have similar
amount of person per household, in Potenza the average house-
hold area is very big (148 m2). In Kaunas, Jaslo and Worms city the
average areas are respectively (62, 68 and 64 m2) which are more
than 2 times less than in Potenza. Smallest average household are
recorded in Torres Vedras (24 m2).
Most of the buildings in Kaunas and Potenza were built up
more 40 years ago. These eldest buildings represent 69% of the
buildings stock in Kaunas and 55% in Potenza. In Jaslo the eldest
buildings represent about 35% of the building stock and 59% were
built in period 1970–2000. In Potenza and Kaunas respectively 30%
and 40% of the buildings, whereas those built after year 2000 are
only 1% in Kaunas, 6% in Jaslo and 5% in Potenza.
The description of communities’ awareness on RES and EE differs a
lot in the analysed regions. Durham County claims having a strong
community which is largely based on the activities, awareness on
energy efficiency and renewable energy. It is considered that Durham
residents are more likely to be aware of issues and individual energy
use than other communities. In Lithuania, Kaunas community is
responsive to RES, most of the acceptance is related to wind, solar,
waste and geothermal energy sources. Conversely, nuclear power is
evaluated negatively. It is important to highlight that people who are
interested in EE and RES can ask for a consultation to the officers of
the municipality. On the other hand—the in Kaunas municipality, the
energy department often visit citizens to inform them about the
possibilities of house refurbishment. As a conclusion it can be pointed
out that Kaunas has a low CI rate. Energy efficiency and the use of
renewable energies as well as the rise of costs for energy supply are
topics intensely discussed in Worms. People are aware of their
importance but it seems that they don’t really know how to handle
them properly. Heating is much important than cooling because most
of the households don’t have air conditioning systems. Germans no
longer support nuclear.
It is important to note that in most of the regions, residents can
get information on RES and EE through mass media: namely
newspapers, TV/radio and internet. In some regions information
is provided on environmental events and exhibitions. Only some
people get information via educational institutions and social
advertisements (Torres Vedras, Portugal).
To evaluate resident’s behaviour in partners regions citizens were
interviewed on the diffusion of energy efficiency and renewable
technologies. “A” rated (high energy efficiency) appliances and energy
saving bulbs are the most popular devices (51% in Denmark, about 70%
in Lithuania, about 48% in Italy). In addition, in these countries citizens
would like to install RES and energy-efficient technologies and only a
small part is not interested. By proceeding with a benchmarking
analysis, it can be pointed out that in Lithuania 70% of the appliances
are onlyRES and energy-efficient would devices“A” rated while in Italy
and Denmark, this share is around 50%. Another option to save energy
is wall insulation, which is diffused 13%in Denmark, 19% in Lithuania
and 24% in Italy. It is worth mentioning that 25% of citizens in
Lithuania would like to insulate walls in the next future, because the
harsh winter climate demands high consumption and high energy
bills. In Denmark only 8% of the inhabitants is willing to do that and in
Italy 15% of the population would like to have insulated walls to
reduce energy consumption and huge energy bills.
Thermostatic control devices are also very popular in Italy (32%
of homes) and in Denmark (47%), but are not so common in
Lithuania (10%)due to their high costs and a low awareness level of
population.
The survey indicates that double-glazing is one of the favourite
tools for energy saving. In all regions this indicator shows that
more than one third of windows have this feature.
The implementation of RES technologies is not so popular in
the analysed regions, but most of the respondents affirm to be
interested in RES. The greatest interest is in solar energy, small
wind turbines and biomass.
The survey also assessed people’s habits at home to save
energy and it was concluded that residents behaviour is closely
related with their awareness level. In Worms and in Kaunas there
are different awareness rates of communities, but the survey
shows that 90% of residents turn off the light when it is not in
use. In Italy and in Denmark this rate is slightly lower, respec-
tively 58% and 62%. These figures indicate a positive behaviour in
Germany and Lithuania that might explained by high awareness
in Germany and high energy prices in Lithuania. An interesting
fact is that despite Lithuanians tend to save energy, energy
efficiency is 1.8 times lower than EU level. One of energy saving
indicators—to keep winter temperatures at home 18–21 show
similar results for all regions, namely in Potenza, Worms, Kaunas
and Slagelse 40–50% of the population try to decrease dwelling
heating energy consumption. The same pattern is followed by the
consumption for washing clothes: low temperatures cycles are
often used in most of the countries. Taking a shower instead of
bath is very popular in Worms, Slagelse, Potenza and Kaunas
(about 50-70% of population).
Another common energy saving method is to dry clothes
naturally. It is very popular in Kaunas (71%),
Potenza, Worms (both around 50% ) and Slagelse (41%). Turn off
the standby of electric appliances and equipments not in use is
also a common practice. More than 70% of citizens in Worms and
Kaunas city put this measure in place, while in Potenza only 54%
pay attention to this whereas in Slagelse this indicator rises up
to 62%.
People use EE technologies in order to decrease their energy
consumption. The most popular are energy saving light bulbs and
high EE appliances. Double glazing windows are installed in many
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
residential buildings as they are considered the most affordable
and efficient measure to increase homes’ comfort. Second stage—
wall and loft insulation are less diffused as they are a more
complex issue related to house refurbishment.
RES technologies are not so popular among the respondents
except wood fired boilers, due to their still high prices. There is an
interest in RES technologies that shows their potential in private
households installation: solar and wind technologies are the most
popular ones, followed by geothermal and biomass.
In different regions there are different educational institutions
structures, thereby different degrees of awareness and behaviours.
Higher share of kindergartens are recorded in Worms, Kaunas and
Torres Vedras region representing respectively 65%, 40% and 38% of
all education centres. In Jaslo and in Sheffield this indicator is lower
(25% and 15%), but in Sheffield, most of the educational institutions
are primary schools (60%).In other communities like Potenza, Jaslo,
Torres Vedras the education institutions have almost the same
share : 1/3 kindergarten, 1/3 primary schools and 1/3 basic,
secondary schools (together). In Kaunas there are few primary
and secondary schools, because in Lithuania most of the secondary
schools include all students’ levels (primary, basic and secondary).
In Kaunas and Jaslo other education centres (including universities,
colleges and private schools of arts, sports, etc) represent more than
30% of all educational institutions.
The self-assessment analysis showed that all the regions have
significant practices on community involvement. CI methods and
measures are different among regions depending on their policy
and culture. The following groups of the measures used for CI were
identified:
1. Measures and actions with the aim to inform and engage the
community:
 Initiatives;
 Campaigns;
 Events (fairs, EU and national days);
 Projects.
2. Dissemination of RES and EE activities:
 Information sources;
 Dissemination activities;
 Studies and technical reports;
 Case studies.
3. Meeting places and organised meetings for exchange of infor-
mation, discussions, consultations and collaboration of differ-
ent stakeholders:
 Centres for information and consultation;
 Meetings.
4. CI measures formalized by the legal documents and financial
tools:
 Programs and plans;
 Funding measures.
5. Other measures designed or dedicated for CI:
 Awards and contests;
 Involvement of community in municipality activities;
 NGOs and Associations.
Energy Labs are a new and innovative measure for CI which
have been implemented in each analysed region since the
RENERGY project has started. Energy Labs contribute to Commu-
nity involvement not only as separate events, but also to create a
strategy for the CI actions and their implementation.
The analysis shows that some of the countries are very
advanced in the communication within the community members
through well established centres of information and consultation
and initiatives, ensuring a high rate of involvement of the com-
munity on energy issues.
703
Several important aspects should be considered before the
implementation of particular CI action:
 Integrity;
 Visibility;
 Transferability;
 Accessibility/Availability;
 Transparency;
 Correspondence to the needs and expectations of the
community;
 The target group of the community.
The responsibility on the implementation of CI actions differs
from region to region: municipality, energy providers, scientific
organisations and NGOs are the typical stakeholders that initiate
and implement the CI actions. Moreover, the overload of informa-
tion without a preliminary evaluation of the current need of the
residents could have a negative impact since the community could
become indifferent to the information related to a particular theme
as in the and EE. Furthermore the coordination of CI actions should
ensure the effective usage of monetary and human resources.
3.4.2. SWOT analysis of community involvement
Energy policy of the European Union is based on energy inde-
pendence, competitiveness and sustainability. Promotion of renew-
able energy and energy efficiency, raising the awareness of citizens is
of great importance in order to achieve these aims. The regions differ
by the socioeconomic, geographical and cultural aspects. However,
some common tendencies could be described.
RES and EE enhancement is a priority in energy sector. Each
partner of the RENERGY project affirms that the promotion of RES
and EE is very important, contributing to raise residents awareness.
In fact, a strength point in more developed regions (Worms,
Durham, Slagelse)is the high awareness on energy efficiency
measures and renewable energy sources development to decrease
carbon dioxide emissions. On the contrary community awareness in
new EU member countries (Poland, Lithuania and Romania) is not
so high. A main reason is the negative legacy from soviet times,
when energy costs were very low and EE was not at all relevant. It is
important to note that environment protection is the main reason
in the analyzed regions to develop sustainable energy strategies,
economic benefit is a secondary factor determining the transfer
from fossil fuels to RES. The strength of the regions is also based on
education centres, strong communities, NGOs or special programs
which help revealing the benefits of sustainable development. NGO,
conscious communities in most countries are the main energy
development initiators. Lithuania, Poland, England and Denmark
are very different in many factors, namely GDP, history and culture,
but they have very strong communities and NGOs in RES sector.
Kaunas indicated the use of public transport as an effective tool for
increasing its energy efficiency.
Residents affirm to be aware in RES and EE issues in many
countries (Germany, England, Denmark and Portugal), but their
behaviour is not in line with their assertions. There is also a lack of
tailored communication strategies. Residents are aware of the
importance to decrease the environmental impacts; however they
have no deep understanding on practical measures which could be
implemented by them to contribute to the common environmen-
tal goals. The regions from the North and East Europe have high
dwelling heating costs, regrettably residents are not very inter-
ested in buildings renovation (Lithuania), which could increase EE
and decrease their energy bills. This problem is determined by a
lack of knowledge and unsuitable financing programs, whereas
social compensations for heat energy do not encourage increasing
of efficiency of the buildings. There were identified some
704 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
important factors determining the low intention to implement EE
measures: conflicts of interests between owners and tennants;
aged population with low interest in innovations and changes;
quite expensive RES and EE technologies, in particular for the
regions with a low GDP rate. Lack of information centres about
European energy policy and its implementation was identified as a
main weakness. On the contrary, the regions (e.g. Torres Vedras
and Tulln) that established these centres see them as an opportu-
nity to foster community awareness and increase their
knowledge level.
The current situation in the analysed regions can cause serious
threats if the problems are not solved properly and on time.
Disinformation and negative campaigns against RES raise the com-
munity against sustainable development. Prevalence of negative
actions could cause the passivity of the community. Overload of
generic information was also indicated as very important threat,
whereas the community members need practical and customised
information. Many partners (Austria, Romania, Denmark, Italy, and
Lithuania) have identified high renewable energy costs and excessive
debt of citizens as deterrent factors to implement RES and EE
technologies. The lack of transparency in policy, legislation as well
as the unstable economic situation create unfavourable circum-
stances for a successful involvement of the communities in RES
and EE deployment.
Despite the identified weaknesses and threats, each region
identified the opportunities to overcome the existent problems to
proceed towards a sustainable energy development. One of them
is to create models to involve communities and residents in order
to improve their education systems and raise citizens awareness
on EE measures, implementation of new technologies and others
important issues. The most effective communication and informa-
tion channels are considered internet, television, leaflets and
newsletters. Despite the European Social Development funding
programme there is still a lack of capacities to utilise money for
private buildings renovation or implementation of renewable
energy technologies. Therefore the increase of ability to use these
funds to boost the installation of new technologies would increase
the diffusion of EE and RES. In fact, the increase of RES share in
energy sector and an increased interest in EE implementation
could represent an advantage from the economic point of view,
creating more workplaces and decreasing the unemployment rate.
The examples of installed technologies and existing good practices
on RES and EE in the different regions have a great potential to
encourage other regions, or residents of the same region, if the
Table 6
SWOT analysis for community involvement.
Strength
 Presence of education centres and NGO
Opportunities
 Participation in EU projects and initiatives focused on RES and EE deployment (e.g. Covenant
of Mayors, Energy Cities), twinning relationships and networking foster the local knowledge
of worldwide case cities
 Adoption of best practices from other municipalities
 Coordination of energy activities at local level and an increase of local actors involvement
 Existing research efforts to establish networks and co-operation across districts
 Efforts to strengthen the community role
 Improvement of life quality standards
 Increase of Public awareness
 RES and EE promotion can contribute to strengthen the local identity
information would be properly circulated. Young generation is a
perfect target group to develop green energy strategies, therefore
the greatest efforts should be dedicated to their education. The
summary results of SWOT analysis are reported in the following
(Table 6).
4. PEST analysis
Sustainability, the main paradigm of the future development, is
an important issue in the energy sector. The main EU directives and
legal requirements are designed to increase the sustainability in
energy sector through the increase of RES and an efficient energy
use. However the approach of sustainable development has a more
extensive conception, where different aspects (social, economic,
environmental and technological) should be taken into account. The
coordination of those aspects could lead to the definition of
sustainable energy strategies, which incorporate a sustainable
provision of energy. Therefore the current situation of a particular
region should be evaluated thoroughly, without the exclusion of any
mentioned aspect. The results of such an analysis could lead to the
identification of successful and effective measures to solve the
identified problems defining suited development strategies.
This chapter summarizes the main findings of the RENERGY
project self-assessment analysis. The project is focused on different
thematic pillars related to the the main issues to be tackled. In this
framework, the PEST analysis will serve as a measure to define a
common understanding based on a holistic view. The PEST analysis
reveals the existence of positive and negative exogenous factors
influencing the regional energy systems (Table 7). The combination
of different aspects could be an useful tool to trigger the future
activities in a region.
5. Conclusions
Sustainability, the main paradigm of the future development, has
an important role in the development of energy strategies as sustain-
able energy planning requires a cautionary approach to resource use.
In fact, the main EU directives and national policies are designed to
increase energy sustainability through an increased share of RES and a
more efficient use of energy resources. However the approach to
sustainable development has a more general conception, where the
different aspects (social, economic, environmental and technological)
Weaknesses
 Scarce awareness and lacking involvement of private stakeholders in
energy and environmental policy issues
 Lack of dissemination and public engagement
 Lack of consulting networks
Threats
 Community believe that policy makers/planners do not have
adequate vision, skills or education for tackling these issues
 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707 705

Table 7
PEST results.

Political Social

 Legal requirements, strategies, statements and targets of the region. The regions
lacking of regional strategies has less potential to implement the specific national
and EU level strategies at the regional level. The regions, having the concrete
targets related to RES and EE have respective action plans how o reach those
targets. The implementation of the policy needs additional efforts and measures
 Variety of policy initiatives on RES, EE and decrease of energy demand
 Reflection of national/EU priorities at the regional policies is the foundation for
the concrete actions to be developed and implemented at the region. It is
essential that the high priorities would be transferred to the concrete activities.
Otherwise the contradiction between the declarations of the municipality and its
actions could be identified
 Acceptance and reliance of policy initiatives by other stakeholders
 Financial frameworks and measures on EE and RES stimulation, implementation
—the lack of such incentives and legislation could cause the barriers
implementation of EE measures
 The assessment of local needs before creation of strategies and objectives
 Coordination of efforts (between policy, market and community) may lead to a
higher success increasing the cooperation. The variety of municipalities’
initiatives needs to be coordinated, with the initial evaluation on the human and
financial resources for the successful implementation. The initiatives and efforts
should be based on the needs of the region; therefore every municipality has to
evaluate the state of the art in the specific issue
 Broad range of consultancy with the opportunity to receive this service for free
for private users
 Political objectives determine the priorities on the particular types of RES, or
create barriers for implementation/installation of alternative energy sources
 Volatility of legal requirements—the frequent changes of the legal requirements
could cause the instability and lack of confidence on regional policy. The
periodical changes of the municipality officers, policy forces and mayors have the
direct impact for the consistent development of energy system
 Corruption at national and local government level—is typical at the new
members of EU. It is very important factor making the groundless barriers for
sustainable energy development at regions
 The priorities of the region have the direct impact to the development of
sustainable energy systems. The regions which declare the sustainability or green
economy as the main strategy, has more potential to force the sustainability in all
sectors of economy, including energy sector.
 Systematic approach to the management of the municipality issues helps to
avoid disjunctions between different areas of the municipality activities and
different stakeholders
 Interregional cooperation within the projects and other activities is important for
the improvement of the policy in the particular region
 Population and demographical forces: growing age of population and decrease of
population. This factor influences the susceptibility of various innovations and
new technologies
 Socioeconomic aspects: costs; energy prices; and private budget of the
inhabitants determine the ability of the inhabitants to implement any
investments to their realty. The inhabitants of the regions with the lower GDP
and lower private budget are more vulnerable because of the prices of the
energy. Moreover, their ability to implement any EE measures are very limited.
Therefore the subsidies and financial support for the vulnerable communities are
of great importance in coordination with the information campaigns
 Awareness of the community and knowledge on particular energetic issues—it
has the direct influence to the acceptance of RES techniques. The relation to the
behaviour could be direct but sometimes and ambivalent. The overload of
information is indicated as the negative aspect for the positive behaviour of the
community. Therefore the education and information activities should be well
planned or even the communication strategy is necessary for the purposeful and
efficient awareness raising activities
 Acceptance of RES and EE and new other ideas of sustainable development
 Collaboration—is identified as one of important factors influencing the
community involvement level and other activities when coordinating the
activities of different stakeholder groups. The analysis of different regions shows
that the lack of collaboration conditions the barriers for consistent
implementation of the joint strategies. Many efforts are wasted for the fights and
quarrels instead of consolidated attempts. The analysis shows, that the regions,
having the centres of information and consultation for the community and other
stakeholder groups (Torres Vedras, PT, Potenza, IT) has an advanced and energy
conscious communities
 Community involvement initiatives/active persons/stakeholders/tools methods
 EE and RES benefit to the community or each inhabitant—every resident is
motivated to increase energy efficiency and to conserve the energy, or to
implement the RES technologies, after he has a clear understanding on the
benefit of those measures. Therefore the regional and national measures for EE
and RES should be translated to the “human language” in order every person
could see the personal benefit instead of national or regional ones
 Unemployment rate—is one of the characteristics of the life quality. The higher
unemployment rate shows the there is less opportunities to initiate any
incentivises which requires the investments from the inhabitants, for example
house renovation and other EE techniques. The stimulation of RES usage,
whereas the investments are coming from the investors, conversely, could be the
positive aspect, decreasing the unemployment (it is proved that the transfer to
the RES from the fossil fuel could create more workplaces
 Educational background, qualification—this factor has a significant impact on the
community awareness
 Education & Science institutions—those institutions could have an important role
to the education of the community members and information campaigns
 Realty health and living conditions—the characteristics of realty has an essential
impact on the living conditions. It is closely related to the climatic characteristics
of the region, as for the northern countries the insulation of the realty is of the
most important parameters at the winter time, while in the Southern regions the
insulation and architectural parameters has a significant impact on the building
and the energy used for it is conditioning at the summer time

Economic
 Costs: Energy costs; Costs of EE and RES technologies
 Funding incentives/subsidies/grants for RES and EE. The cost compensation
systems for heat energy discourage the renovation of inefficient buildings
 Unemployment rate
 Marketing strategies for RES and EE promotion at the region. Promotion of RES
and EE—new job opportunities
 Economic crisis: discourages investments, but encourages the rational use
of energy
 BVP of the country/quality of life/Income level
 Monopoly or contestable market of the energy system—monopoly is the main
barrier for implementation of RES and decrease of energy prices
 Potential of business development at the region
Technical
 Housing stock—construction and energy efficiency of the buildings are important
subjects determining the renovation
 Solid wall insulation programs
 Requirements on exterior of the buildings after the renovation—legal
architectural requirements and community attitude
 Determination of the RES potential at the particular region—self assessment of
the region on RES/EE potential enables the planning of the sustainable energy
development at the region
 Availability of the technologies—some of the regions promote one type of
technologies, for instance, solar energy, instead of free market of the whole range
of RES technologies
 Dissemination of information on good practices in the region, demonstrating the
technologies already installed, could promote the installation of RES technologies
 District heating systems and electricity supply infrastructure
 Transport infrastructure at the region
 Trainings of the professionals—only the qualified personnel of the municipalities
and other professional companies could make and implement necessary
decisions on the energy sector improvements
 Data transparency—is essential factor for the reasonable planning of the energy
sector development
706 C. Cosmi et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 693–707
should be taken into account comprehensively. The coordination of all
the involved aspects is necessary to achieve an effective sustainable
management of resources, which integrates energy needs in a
comprehensive territorial planning strategy. This implies that the
energy issues at national and local scale should be evaluated from a
multiple point of view in order to meet manifold and sometimes
contrasting objectives. In this context, self-assessment analysis is a
basic step for a successful implementation of policy and measures
aimed at achieving strategic energy and climate goals. In fact, it allows
taking into account community peculiarities and attitudes as well as
devising measures that correspond to community needs and expecta-
tions, maximizing the community involvement.
The self-assessment analysis of the partners regions, based on a
methodology that integrate the main available tools, allowed the
RENERGY partners to point out the key issues for the development
of their local energy strategies and to share their knowledge with
other European communities. The self-assessment was focused on
the main aspects related to the thematic pillars of the project:
Policy and Governance; Market Uptake; Community Involvement.
The methodology has a general application purpose: to characterise
the background on which sustainable development actions and
plans are developed, to establish medium—long term energy and
climate feasible targets, to assess the progress towards sustainable
development in communities, to compare different regions on the
basis of a common system of indicators. RES and EE promotion
represent a good opportunity to encourage the transition towards
nearly zero emissions communities, with a novel political vision
that integrates policy and governance, business development and
education. In this framework regional and interregional cooperation
are strategic to increase public awareness, to emphasize the com-
munity role and the local identity as well as to share knowledge and
best practices for a successful achievement of EU energy and
environmental targets.
Acknowledgment
This research was funded by INTERREG IVC Programme in the
framework of the Regional Initiative Project “Regional Strategies
for Energy Conscious Communities RENERGY” leaded by the
Province of Potenza (Italy) (Project no: 1245R4).
More information is available at http://www.renergyproject.eu/
The authors also would like to express their gratitude to the
two anonymous reviewers for their highly valuable comments.
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