Energy poverty affects many households in Europe, and current solutions are often limited to short-term financial assistance. But short-term solutions are not enough to ensure a sustainable and equitable energy transition that does not leave millions of vulnerable energy poor households behind.
The SOCIALNRG project aims to develop, test and verify a new and fully scalable approach to be applied in three pilot social housing communities in Slovenia, Italy and Belgium. The approach will be based on three pillars: building cooperation to create or adapt existing energy communities, fostering peer exchange and learning, and making recommendations to tackle barriers at policy level.
With the objective of creating long-term energy communities for 460 families or households, SOCIALNRG brings together social and cooperative housing providers operating in Belgium, Italy and Slovenia to support low-income residents in the face of rising energy costs. In addition to the financial benefits, the project aims to empower residents by building local resilience and promoting community practices. By actively engaging socially vulnerable households, SOCIALNRG ensures that these households have a voice in shaping the energy transition. At a time when social and environmental policies risk being sidelined in the pursuit of competitiveness, SOCIALNRG presents a roadmap for an inclusive and democratic energy transition.
Project partners:
COMITE EUROPEEN DE COORDINATION DE L’HABITAT SOC (Belgium), E’ NOSTRA SOCIETA COOPERATIVA (Italy), FINABITA SPA (Italy), FOCUS, DRUŠTVO ZA SONARAVEN RAZVOJ (Slovenia), Inovacijsko-razvojni inštitut Univerze v Ljubljani (Slovenia), KLIMAAN (Belgium), RESCOOP EU ASBL (Belgium), STANOVANJSKO PODJETJE ZA GOSPODARJENJE z objekti d.o.o. (Slovenia) in Woonmaatschappij Rivierenland (Belgium).
Project website: https://www.housingeurope.eu/
Project duration: october 2024 – september 2027
Contact: [email protected]
