Energy in the Hands of the People: Developing Citizen Participation in Czech Energy Communities
Keywords: citizen energy, information transfer, knowledge transfer, qualification, participation
Subject and objectives of the project
The project is based on the current situation of energy communities in the Czech Republic, which are primarily established by municipalities and local action groups and only to a limited extent involve ordinary citizens in investments and decision-making processes. This limits both the benefits and democratic nature of the energy transition for citizens, as well as the use of the potential of buildings and the construction of new energy sources, especially wind turbines. The aim of the project is to ensure greater citizen participation in municipal energy projects and to overcome economic and organizational barriers. The project will prepare, test and disseminate best practices for the involvement of citizens in municipal energy projects in the Czech Republic. Energy communities will be made more attractive to enable citizen participation in organizational, economic and informational terms. First, knowledge about existing communities will be used to identify barriers. Then, procedures for involving citizens in decision-making processes, financing and energy distribution will be designed and practically tested within the energy cooperative of the Hnutí DUHA movement. This will also improve the management and use of energy from renewable sources. At least three other municipalities will be offered targeted advice and support in involving citizens. The practical knowledge gained will be summarized in methods and tools that will be made available to all energy communities, especially the members of the Union of Community Energy (UKEN). In collaboration with other communities within UKEN, barriers to citizen participation arising from the legal framework, administrative obligations or economic realities of the energy sector are identified. To overcome these, systemic changes to legislation, support programs or other regulations are proposed and these proposals are presented to policy makers and the media. The dissemination of information on this topic and the results of the project will be supported by communication activities.
Activities and expected results:
Activity 1: Analysis of obstacles and needs for citizen participation
Project outcome 1.1: internal analysis of barriers and needs for citizen participation to be discussed within the Community Energy Union (UKEN) working groups.
Activity 2: Design and development of procedures for public participation
Project deliverable 2.1: three detailed procedures for public participation in energy communities, including legal and economic frameworks; the document is aimed at managers in energy communities.
Project deliverable 2.2: methodology for communicating with and educating members.
Activity 3: Pilot test within the Hnutí DUHA energy cooperative (EDHD)
Project outcome 3.1: at least ten online and two face-to-face meetings with EDHD members
Project outcome 3.2: two systems for participatory management of the energy cooperative implemented, accessed via the members’ area of the website
Project outcome 3.3: two training courses to build internal capacity for the management and development of participatory systems (involving at least 5 active EDHD members)
Activity 4: Supporting three emerging communities in engaging citizens
Project outcome 4.1: three proposals for concrete solutions to facilitate citizen participation in three emerging communities (internal documents for each community)
Project outcome 4.2: proposals for changes to internal processes or documents (internal documents for each community)
Project outcome 4.3: three participatory meetings to recruit new members with 20 participants each
Project outcome 4.4: twelve social media posts reaching at least 3,000 people
Project outcome 4.5: three articles in local media
Project outcome 4.6: three face-to-face trainings and three online consultations for a total of 9 representatives from the three communities
Activity 5 Building systemic conditions for municipal energy
Project outcome 5.1: three strategy papers with recommendations for strengthening civic engagement for municipal energy
Project outcome 5.2: six meetings with MPs or ministers and three working group meetings with authorities
Activity 6 Dissemination of good practice
Project outcome 6.1: three webinars with a total of 90 participants (30 people per webinar)
Project outcome 6.2: three face-to-face workshops with a total of 60 participants (20 people per workshop)
Project outcome 6.3: publication with best practice methods and practical examples (15 pages online + 100 printed copies)
Project outcome 6.4: three thematic articles in national media
Project outcome 6.5: ten thematic articles on UKEN and Hnutí DUHA websites
Project outcome 6.6: twelve social media posts reaching 90,000 people Project outcome 6.7: two contributions to two expert forums and conferences
Innovation and exemplary nature of the project
Social innovation:
The project introduces participatory methods for involving citizens in energy communities. In the Czech context, where cooperatives and similar models of collective economic activity are highly discredited due to the communist past, society is highly individualized and citizen engagement in the form of association or party membership is declining, this consistent involvement of citizens is truly innovative. By opening up new opportunities for citizens to participate in decisions about projects, the use of funds and the operation of energy communities, the project promotes a novel approach. It aims to identify and validate new organizational models for energy communities as well as new methods for engaging and recruiting members and strengthening their active role in community governance.
Organizational innovation:
Currently, the community energy sector is primarily driven by actors with significant organizational and financial capacity, such as municipalities and local action groups that own buildings and develop energy sources on them. Among the emerging energy communities, the Hnutí DUHA energy cooperative is unique in that it is run by individuals rather than institutions.
By involving citizens more directly in the work of the community – by adapting its processes such as bylaws, membership admission procedures and economic models – the project introduces an innovation that enables a truly democratic approach to energy.
Economic innovation:
Citizen participation in collective investment in renewable energy sources is a new form of economic activity. While there are some private platforms for crowdfunding, micro-investment or peer-to-peer lending, these are not directly controlled by citizens, nor do they focus specifically on renewable energy sources (RES). Furthermore, they do not offer the possibility to share electricity and thus benefit not only through dividends but also through discounts on consumption from one’s own investment. The few existing examples of citizen investment in renewable energy projects are limited, do not allow citizens to influence project design and do not offer participants any decision-making power. Citizen participation can mobilize new sources of capital and create additional opportunities for the use of land and buildings for renewable energy installations.
Technological innovation:
In order to achieve economic viability and benefits from citizen participation in energy sharing, energy communities need to implement management systems for production and consumption that work synchronously over time and enable efficient use of the energy produced within the shared system. Currently, emerging energy communities do not use systems that directly involve citizens in adjusting their energy consumption to optimize sharing. Therefore, models for citizen participation in energy communities will include the optimization of consumption and sharing. Within the Hnutí DUHA energy cooperative, an IT system for managing production and consumption is being tested directly, which enables the participation of citizens, evaluates their impact on energy distribution and communicates with them to improve the results of distribution.
Funding theme 6: Renewable energy, energy saving and efficiency
Project implementation:
Location: Czech Republic
Funding period: January 2026 to January 2029
Project costs: Total volume: 340,627 euros, funding from DBU: 170,313 euros
DBU-AZ: 40738/01
Status: 09.02.2026