Ærø is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands. In 1981 the island’s community established the Ærø Energy and Environment Office, which took the role of a local intermediary in the process of developing a community- owned wind farm. Only inhabitants or companies on the island can buy shares. A bidding process ensured an inclusive character, selling to those inhabitants who wanted to buy a small number of shares before opening to those who wanted to invest a larger amount of money. Local banks contributed to this inclusive approach by providing bank loans to citizens.
Unije Island is part of the Cres-Lošinj archipelago and constitutes the westernmost part of Primorje Gorski Kotar County (PGKC). The “Unije: self-sufficient island” project started in 2015 as a collaboration between PGKC, KrK Diocese and the City of Mali Lošinj with the objective to revitalize Unije Island and make it energy independent. REA Kvarner coordinates the project on behalf of the County PGKC.
The Smart Islands Energy System (SMILE) project is a collaboration of nineteen partners from European countries funded by the Horizon 2020. On three different islands – Samso (Denmark), Orkney Islands (UK) and Madeira (Portugal), the project will demonstrate nine different smart grid technologies.
On Madeira, an intelligent control and automation system is currently being implemented in the existing grid to provide better management of the distribution network and ensure grid reliability and resilience.
Menorca had turned to the Clean Energy for EU Islands Secretariat for support on developing a financing concept for a citizen-owned solar power plant on the island, in the city of Es Castell – a concept supported by the municipality. A first call with the transition team in Menorca helped establish the next steps for advancing the project. The Menorca team then went on to determine the percentage of citizen participation with the municipality.
