The partner cities chose the most interesting and useful topics to deepen in some aspects to be developed in parallel to the drafting of their respective Investment Plans (the Springboard Plan in the case of Viladecans). The chosen topics were: Retrofitting, Energy Communities, Energy Pooling, Citizen Engagement in energy efficiency projects and Incentives to promote energy-efficient practices amongst citizens.
The first webinar took place on 1 October, where experts Eva Geröhazi and Hannah Szemzö from the Hungary Metropolitan Research Institute, Thibaut Maraquin from the association of cities Energy Cities Association andArturo Zea from València Clima i Energia presented several inspiring projects on retrofitting. For instance, the Innovate Project, a programme that brings together the main stakeholders involved in retrofitting projects to provide an integrated service through a one-stop-shop in several European territories (more information about all the inspiring projects discussed in this webinar here).
The second webinar, held on 21 October 2021, featured one of Europe's leading experts on energy communities, Dirk Vansitjan, President and Project Manager of RESCoop (European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives). Vansitjan explained what an energy community is, what its mission is and how they constitute an alternative form of energy governance that makes it possible to cut the excessive dependence of the energy market on fossil fuels in cities (more information on this webinar can be found here).
The third and fourth webinars were part of the Transnational Meeting 3 agenda on 18 November. Firstly, experts Kristóf Boda from MVM Ltd and Geoffroy Deserranno from Wikipower.be delved into the topic of aggregate energy demand. Secondly, citizen participation in energy-related projects was discussed. Péter Szuppinger and Mária Csikai shared some pilot projects that are being developed in the district of Zugló (Budapest), and the UIA 'E-Co-Housing' project. Marina Jarque and Arnau Alarcón, Vilawatt-UTM ULG Coordinators, detailed the 6-step system used in Viladecans to involve citizens in Vilawatt's energy activities (more information about this webinar can be found here).
Lastly, on 16 December, the focus was on how to convince citizens, companies and other stakeholders to engage in the efficient use of energy. Dorothy Heffernan, a specialist in human behaviour, spoke about motivation from the point of view of human psychology. Maria Jabbour, from the consultancy firm specialising in energy issues, Ecoserveis, explained some initiatives to combat the low participation of citizens in energy transition projects. And finally, Elisa Poch de Feliu, Project Management Support at Vilawatt UTM -Viladecans- shared three of the incentives that are currently being used in Viladecans to encourage participation: the 'Catalogue of services and companies for sustainable construction and energy efficiency', the Vilawatt Awards and the launch of the first energy communities in the municipality (more information on this webinar can be found here).
Vilawatt – UTM, which is part of the European URBACT program, is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
