Rural communities such as Hal (Flanders, Belgium) can find themselves in a vulnerable situation regarding their energy supply and yet are still not prioritised for public investments in relevant infrastructure. At the same time, rural areas, and specifically farmers, have a significant potential to become frontrunners in renewable energy production. For example, farms often have large roof surfaces suitable for the installation of photovoltaic panels and farmers know the environment extremely well and are fully aware of any seasonal influences. Furthermore, different types of farms have specific electricity consumption patterns that can complement each other and local citizens’ needs.

The entrepreneurial idea of the farmers in Hal was triggered by the EU setting targets for saving energy consumption, increasing the production of renewable energy and promoting the concept of energy communities through ‘local energy sharing and selling’. Specifically, the ‘Clean energy for all Europeans Package’ (based on EU regulation 2018/2001) created the potential for the production and sale of electricity between citizens and SMEs.

The farmers understood that, by creating a local economy based on the production of locally owned renewable energy production, the whole local community in Hal would become less dependent on centralised energy production and would benefit from a more affordable price for their energy. In addition, renewable energy communities could generate a financial added value for farmers while also creating socio-economic and climate benefits.

The key aims of the project were to make the rural community of Hal more resilient and less dependent on the central energy market. By becoming pivotal actors on the local energy market, Hal would be future-proof, reduce its GHG emissions and increase its renewable energy production.

In practical terms, this meant establishing an energy cooperative with the objectives to benefit from the energy transition and enhancing the economic and social attractiveness of the Hall community. The cooperative further required a suitable business model for farmers and shareholders and sought to improve the social relationships between farmers and citizens. In addition, members of the cooperative needed to acquire knowledge in laws, finance, technology, marketing and management to ensure that the cooperative would become a trusted renewable energy supplier.

The first step was to create the energy cooperative Halnet CV, produce renewable energy and also embrace the principles of reduced energy consumption and smart use of energy among its members. Members of the cooperative include 22 farmers (including three young farmers) and 40 citizens.

Then, with the help of the EIP project entitled ‘Local energy for farmer and citizen’, Halnet CV evolved into an energy community. This process involved various activities that drew on the substantial experience and knowledge that already existed (including European projects such as Energy Community Co-operatives - ECCO, ecoSCADA - an Energy Management System installed on different production farms, and ROLECS). The cooperative members learned to adapt and apply this knowledge to their specific rural-agricultural context, including their community of farmers and citizens.

In addition to Halnet CV, the Operational Group involved: 

In terms of renewable energy production, Halnet CV reduced GHG emissions by using photovoltaic panels (+/- 260 kWp PV) and an on-site battery (450 kWh). This resulted in energy savings of around 5-10% on the farms involved, contributing to the aims of the European Green Deal.

The cooperative generated an increase in revenues through energy savings, lower energy bills and an increase in self-consumption. Each year cooperative members receive a minimum of 4% of their shares. The rural community of Hal was less affected by the energy crisis of 2022.

Overall, the project had a fundamentally positive impact on the energy awareness of the whole community. Now, farmers and citizens have the skills and capacities to operate their energy community effectively, create action plans, use the EMS platform and put research into practice. They are now planning to develop and invest in new renewable energy projects.

The collaborative nature of the project enabled farmers and citizens to understand each other better. This has already resulted in new landscape projects and demonstrates a change in mentality and the empowerment of community members.

Networking ensured that different actors were able to meet and share knowledge. Three other rural municipalities in Belgium are already in the process of replicating this project.

The use of the ecoSCADA platform is considered innovative for its real-time data measurement and connectivity for effective operation and revenue generation.

The young participants of the project generally gained hands-on experience and access to lower energy prices.  

There is a need to choose profitable business models, including e-selling and e-sharing of renewable energy.

Matching farmers and citizens with the appropriate, complementary experts helps to ensure that they are empowered and gain new skills.

It is beneficial to build a diverse partnership involving many relevant stakeholders that can contribute different perspectives and suggest different revenue models.

The project involved a lot of meetings to achieve the results, but there were also more informal moments, such as a BBQ on a blueberry farm to get the neighbours involved.

A team of coaches in Flanders would help to roll out the concept of energy communities effectively and deal with administrative burdens.