The main aim of the POWERTY project is to facilitate that the vulnerable groups affected by energy poverty can use renewable energy through the promotion of low cost innovative solutions.
The consortium of this project is formed, under the coordination and leadership of the Andalusian Energy Agency, of the Energy Agency of Plovdiv (EAP) in Bulgaria (one of the European countries with the highest rates of energy poverty), the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Energy Environment Agency (AAURA-EE) in France, the Agglomeration Opole Trust (AOT) (a federation of 20 municipalities in Poland) and the Public Investment and Development Agency of Lithuania (VIPA). Also noteworthy is the participation in the consortium of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, which leads the European Observatory of Energy Poverty, an initiative promoted by the European Commission and responsible for analysing all European initiatives in the field of energy poverty.
The project, with a budget of 1.1 million euros, and part of the Interreg Europe programme, will be cofinanced by the European Commission up to 83.6%.
Kick-off meeting in Andalusia
During the Kick-off meeting held in Seville last 12th and 13th September 2019, partners had the opportunity to discuss the different thematic axes on which work will be carried out during the project lifetime, such as new innovative renewable energy technologies aimed at vulnerable groups, including collective and urban systems, new financing formulas for renewable energies suitable for vulnerable groups, improvements in the regulatory framework and empowerment of the vulnerable groups and social innovation to stimulate citizen participation of these social groups. Partners also participated in a study visit to the town of Lebrija to learn about the initiative "Ola Solar de Lebrija" , of the non-profit company ECOOO, where the Town Hall of Lebrija has ceded the roofs of 11 municipal buildings to house photovoltaic installations, with a total power of more than 200 kW.
