Energy Cooperative WEnCoop is the first energy community for women entrepreneurs in Europe. Involves 66 members, all members of the Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs -SEGE and strikes to assist equal chances for their members. Each member benefits from financial gains to energy costs and is able to operate in the energy sector, and increase its family income. WEnCoop operates a PV park, the energy produced is to be used in electromibility actions and free quantities will be allocated to v
National
Greece
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
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No
Yes
2021-07-20
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): ENERGY COOPERATIVE WENCOOP Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: APOSTOLINA Last name of representative: TSALTAMPASI Gender: Female Nationality: Greece Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Olimpiou Diamanti 14 Town: Thessaloniki Postal code: 5426 Country: Greece Direct Tel:+30 231 022 4440 E-mail:info@wencoop.gr Website:https://wencoop.gr/
URL:https://www.facebook.com/WEnCoop Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/ , https://www.linkedin.com/company/wencoop-energy-community/?viewAsMember=true , #wencoop #womeninenergy
Yes
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites
The idea of energy communities started with the aim of helping the energy transition-renovation to be truly fair and for the benefit of citizens. The Energy Communities are activities of Social Democracy and so we have identified and embraced this idea. WEnCoop is the first energy community for women entrepreneurs in Europe.
Energy Cooperative WEnCoop is an initiative of the Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs (SEGE) and strikes together to assist equal chances for their 66 members in their entrepreneurial journey, and to qualify them for their business sustainability with a focus on inclusion and capacity building. The benefits of this project are the encouragement of local investments and the engagement of involvement of more women in local and regional decision-making in the Industry of Energy.
Furthermore, WEnCoop is a “broad-based” energy cooperative created by women from diverse backgrounds and cultures from crafts to services, commerce and hotels and with the minimum participation of 500€ they are able to participate. WEnCoop is a project where citizens, especially women own or participate in the production and/or use of sustainable energy.
The vision for WEnCoop is to provide opportunities for all, raise awareness, and in the meantime its members to assist in both the promotion of clean energy and the protection of the environment. Our goals since we have finished the construction of our first PV plant of 1MW, are to develop three more photovoltaic parks – 3MW (1MW each), use the produced energy for electromobility, and provide free quantities to vulnerable groups, mainly single-parent families of women, etc. We truly believe that we can strengthen the role of citizens and gradually evolve them from consumers to active members and micro-investors in local clean energy investment projects.
Energy Communities
Women Empowerment
Energy Innovation
Energy Democracy
Raise awareness
Energy Communities are an excellent tool for supporting the energy transition in a sustainable way and also support citizens transforming them into active citizens who produce their own energy, thus being active prosumers. Participating in the 1st Energy Female Social Community, Energy Cooperative WEnCoop allows women, regardless of their status, economic background, and educational level to proceed in the design and implementation of a project that will educate them in terms of energy production, provide them training on Energy Efficiency and support them implement green policies of their businesses. All these are supporting mechanisms that promote the values of Energy Democracy. WEnCoop is an initiative of the Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs (SEGE) and strikes together to assist equal chances for their members in their entrepreneurial journey, and to qualify them for their business sustainability with a focus on inclusion and capacity building.
Furthermore, the benefits of this project are the encouragement of local investments and the engagement of involvement of more women in local and regional decision-making in the Industry of Energy. Innovative social policy arises through the possibility of participating as many members as possible and it’s a new form of social movement. The combination of social innovation and community energy creates a new approach to developing new alternative energy marketplaces with social, environmental, and financial impact. Energy Communities have the potential to drive large parts of the population out of energy poverty risk and to ensure sustainable growth for local communities, allowing them to overcome the overspread dependence on energy suppliers and distributors operating on the volatile energy markets, and to create new economic opportunities for its members. This empowers the local community not only by generating and exporting energy but also by reinvesting part of the profits into the community.
Our Energy Community, as a social innovation initiative, is expected to have a range of social benefits to the local community including increased autonomy, empowerment, and resilience by providing a long-term income and local control over finances, in areas where there are few options for generating wealth.
The vision for WEnCoop is to provide opportunities for all, raise awareness, and in the meantime its members to assist in both the promotion of clean energy and the protection of the environment. Our goals since we have finished the construction of our first PV plant of 1MW, are to develop three more photovoltaic parks – 3MW (1MW each), use the produced energy for electromobility, and provide free quantities to vulnerable groups, mainly single-parent families of women, etc. We truly believe that we can strengthen the role of citizens and gradually evolve them from consumers to active members and micro-investors in local clean energy investment projects.
The innovation of our Energy Community lies in the combination of social innovation and community energy. Social innovation is a type of innovation that focuses on human factors. Community energy is a community-based venture for generating and owning renewable energy. This combination of social innovation and community energy creates a new bottom-up approach to developing new alternative energy marketplaces with social, environmental, and financial impact. Community-generated and -owned renewable energy at the local and regional scale is a potential local-scale solution to the long-standing global problem associated with energy depletion and inefficient use of resources.
The establishment of an Energy Community is complicated, but we truly hope that our Energy Community will be set as an example for other community-based organizations across Europe that will replicate our idea to involve more women in the Energy Industry.
Our Energy Community is including the following target groups that are usually excluded:
- Women: only approximately ~2% of Energy Industry have women’s involvement
- Low skilled and low incomed women: they are not included in the field
- Microbusinesses: it is the first Energy Community in Europe as well that include Microbusinesspersons
- Low Financial Capacity: each share is 500 Euro, and accessible even from zero-rate financing to this category
ALL these above-mentioned categories are excluded from this type of projects. Through this project those categories of beneficiaries will be involved and educated in Energy Democracy, will be trained in the Green Consumption philosophy, and develop the inclusion and social cooperation approach. Except of the awareness and the education they will gain, more advanced goal would be their active participation in WenCoop.
In the rest of the activities local communities will be fully included regardless of if they are shareholders of the Energy Community or not.
Finally Social Activities will be focused on the Local Societies. Among others we will also provide other socio-economic benefits such as the encouragement of local investments and engagement of vulnerable customers.
Female Researchers who will be beneficiaries as well are also lacking access to financing.
Our overall goal is to reach out to concerned citizens and most importantly female entrepreneurs. The community aims to create an entirely new market structure, which is not only focused on creating new products and services in the renewable energy sector but more importantly on raising awareness of women's involvement in the Energy Industry.
Energy communities are an important vehicle for the transition to green economy and in addition to self-consumption, WEnCoop wants and aims to provide free quantities to vulnerable groups, mainly single-parent families of women, etc.
Energy Cooperative WEnCoop plays an active role in local sustainable development and contributes to just energy transitions. Renewable energy production and use improve the energy security, the environment, the economy, mechanical manufacturing, construction, transportation, and industry, as well as contribute to the creation of new jobs. Solar, wind, and biomass energy can help meet local energy needs while also helping to protect the environment. Social change, improved access to education and healthcare, and infrastructure growth all result from economic progress.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) our project contributes to are:
• SDG 5 - Gender Equality
• SDG 7 - Affordable Green Energy
• SDG 8 - Decent Work & Economic growth
• SDG 13 - Climate Action.
Renewable energy communities are grassroots initiatives that invest in ‘clean energy’ in order to meet consumption needs and environmental goals and thereby. Energy communities contributing to renewable energy production leads both to returning energy prices and investment and also fighting climate change. Energy Communities are tools of energy transition, through which social and solidarity economy in the energy sector is promoted, energy poverty is addressed, end-use energy efficiency at local and regional level is improved and energy sustainability is reinforced.
The stakeholders of WEnCoop are its 66 members and through crowdfunding we have funded 549.500 Euros. The full investment for the four PV plants – 4 MW is estimated at 2.5 mil Euros. Through crowdfunding we have funded 549.500 Euros and we have secured and got a loan from the National Bank of Greece for the construction expenses of all parks.
Our partners are RESCOOP Energy-the federation of Energy Communities in Europe - a network of 1.900 European energy cooperatives and provides a range of services to support citizens, businesses and local authorities that want to work on community energy. Also, our partner is W4RES’ with support services adapted to WEnCoop’s challenges, technical assistance and consultancy to help women to set-up and deploy gender responsive RHC solutions. All the services of its establishment were covered by the SEGE and by the Business Hub “Smart Umbrella”. Moreover, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform – WEP, the European network association representing, promoting, and supporting women entrepreneurs across Europe and Women 20 (W20), the official G20 dialogue with women NGOs have also helped WEnCoop by promoting and organizing events regarding energy transition and women’s participation in the energy sector. A very important stakeholder of WEnCoop is the Chamber of Halkidiki, which believed in our vision from the beginning and actively supports us. The highlight of this valuable cooperation was the EEPA 2022 Award.
In order to implement the project, multiple specialties were needed for its management and construction. Some of are the accountant office, the construction company, the engineer, the decisions made from the General Assembly which carry the weight of members opinion and the moral authority of the cooperative itself.
The development of the Energy Cooperative “WEnCoop” required the coordination and use of multiple resources that include human, financial, land and entrepreneurial.
The first step identified by SEGE in order to put the Energy community into action was to raise awareness among its members. This included the organization and implementation of roundtables and training sessions that analyzed the concept and attributes of energy communities, energy democracy, energy and green consumption.
The second step included the establishment of the energy community. SEGE invited its members to participate in the energy community and become founding members of the 1st Women Energy Cooperative. Human resources included the participation of 60 members –women entrepreneurs and the support of SEGE’s personnel for initial establishing activities and transactions.
The financial resources include the total investment needed for the establishment of the cooperative’s 1st Solar Power Plant. WEnCoop has completed the construction of the first PV plant- 1MW in the area of Kassandra in Halkidiki. and is on hold for the Public Energy Distributor – DEDDIE to proceed with the connection, in order for us to start operating and producing energy. The full investment for the four PV plants – 4 MW is estimated at 2.5 mil Euros. Through crowdfunding we have funded 549.500 Euros and we have secured and got a loan from the National Bank of Greece for the construction expenses of all parks.
The establishment of WEnCoop impacted Women and Girls into engaging them in the energy sector and actively contribute to energy transition and the Green Deal. The impact is even higher if we consider that the gender diversity in the energy sector is vital for driving more innovative and inclusive solutions.
Through all these seminars and workshops SEGE organized, we managed to discuss and analyze with approximately 250 women the needs and the difficulties they face to enter in the energy sector.
Until now, we gathered 66 women in WEnCoop and hope to increase the number of our members in double and even more. Our next goals for 2023 are to develop 3 more MW Parks while the vision is to use the produced energy for electromobility.
In environmental terms, the first of the four, WEnCoop's 1MW photovoltaic park is estimated to save the planet a total of 919 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and produce enough energy to meet the needs of 386 households, while avoiding the felling of 41,757 trees.
WEnCoop recently won the first prize at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) in category “Supporting the Sustainable Transition”, that was held in the SME Assembly on 29th of November 2022, in Prague. This award was the biggest success for WEnCoop to implement her vision to change the way society in Greece and Europe sees the participation of women in the Energy Sector and the Green Economy. WEnCoop is here, spreading our own message that through true team effort plans become action.
Renewable energy communities are indeed more women-friendly than the rest of the energy sector. Our innovative character started with our idea of having more women involved in the energy sector. The number of Energy Communities in Greece, and all over the world is increasing day by day, but our energy community is focused on women participation and women evolvement in the energy field. WEnCoop’s aim will be to boost individual/family incomes, local entrepreneurship, solidarity economy, in terms of energy democracy, which is an emerging social tendency, in order to offset the fossil fuels energy agenda through the energy transition to more environmentally friendly energy types.
Women are only ~2% in the Global Energy Field and studies showcase that they lack training related to energy democracy. This led us in deciding to proceed in designing a project that will educate women in Energy Democracy, include them in an application that will give financial incentives to their business energy consumption, train them in the Green Consumption philosophy, and develop the inclusion and social cooperation approach.
On December 16, 2020, the initial conception of the idea took place by S.E.G.E. to create a “broad base” energy cooperative of Women Entrepreneurs and their Businesses. The situation was considered ideal for the investment of 60 women. With determination, methodical work and teamwork, WEnCoop managed to overcome the obstacles of the Greek bureaucracy. Nevertheless, within 12 months WEnCoop managed to submit the application for the 1MW solar power plant to the Energy Regulatory Authority. In November 2021, WEnCoop received the terms of the connection and then completed the purchase of the plot. All that remains is the green light from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, for its connection to the HEDNO network to proceed.
In order to address the absence of women in the Energy Sector, SEGE decided to develop an energy community by creating the Women Energy Cooperative “WEnCoop”. The idea of energy communities started with the aim of helping the energy transition-renovation to be truly fair and for the benefit of citizens. Energy Communities are activities of Social Democracy and such we have embraced this idea.
WEnCoop, with its members, proceeded in an investment on the future of clean energy technologies and started the production of energy from renewable sources to mitigate climate change and adapt evident manifestations.
The first step identified by SEGE in order to put the Energy community into action was to raise awareness among its members. This included the organization and implementation of roundtables and training sessions that analyzed the concept and attributes of energy communities, energy democracy, energy and green consumption.
The second step included the establishment of the energy community. SEGE invited its members to participate in the energy community and become founding members of the 1st Women Energy Cooperative. Discussions started in late 2020, and WEnCoop established in July 2021. Human resources included the participation of 60 members –women entrepreneurs and the support of SEGE’s personnel for initial establishing activities and transactions.
Land, one of the most essential resources for the establishment of the solar plants, was bought as part of the investment. All Photovoltaic parks will be established in the same wider area in the Region of Central Macedonia, the Regional Unit of Chalkidiki and specifically the Municipality of Polygyros.
Entrepreneurial resources came directly from the entrepreneurial skills of the members of SEGE that invested and joined “WEnCoop” as well as the administration of SEGE that provided the initial support and counseling.
Our initiative, WEnCoop could be easily adapted and replicated, not only in Greece, but across all globes. At a time when Europe is shaping its new development strategy, the European Green Agreement, and putting climate neutrality at the heart of its policies, energy communities, such as ours, are coming to complete the toolkit for energy transition. A transition from the most unprofitable fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Energy Cooperative WEnCoop plays an active role in local sustainable development and contributes to just energy transitions.
WEnCoop is expected to have a range of financial, social, and environmental benefits to local/regional and national level including increased autonomy, empowerment and resilience by providing a long-term income and local control over finances, in areas where there are few options for generating wealth.
Our Energy Community empowers its members and its beneficiaries not only to generate and export their own energy but also to reinvest part of the profits into the community. This method promotes self-sufficiency and a sense of community engagement in a “common good” through the use of new technologies that enhance lifestyles. It also stimulates leadership and highlights the involvement of more women in local and regional decision-making.
The establishment of an Energy Community is complicated, but we truly hope that our Energy Community WEnCoop will be set as an example for other community-based organizations across Europe that will replicate our idea to involve more women in the Energy Industry.
Through renewable energy communities, we contribute to renewable energy production, and this leads to an investment in fighting climate change. In order to provide clean energy to the members, our community will take part in the climate action by reducing gas emissions and using renewable sources of energy such as solar energy.
Energy Communities, such as WEnCoop, have the potential to drive large parts of the population out of energy poverty risk and to ensure sustainable growth for local communities, allowing them to overcome the overspread dependence from energy suppliers and distributors operating on the volatile energy markets, and to create new economic opportunities for its members. This empowers and the local community not only by generating and exporting energy but also by reinvesting part of the profits into the community.
Energy efficiency is the cheapest way for a community to become more sustainable. Using less and clean energy results in the elimination of the negative impacts of climate change. According to research by experts, the most environmentally friendly mean of energy production turned to be solar panels. WEnCoop will install PV panels at a specific and licensed field, which is considered productive for the purpose of our community.
