ACCU - Accelerate energy CommUnities in cities via local solar energy storage and heat
ACCU helps three local energy communities store and share solar energy as electricity and heat for affordable neighborhood energy.
Duration
January 2025 - December 2028Project Manager
In many urban neighborhoods, more and more solar energy is becoming available, but people do not always use electricity at the same time the sun is shining. This puts pressure on the power grid and can leave locally generated energy unused. At the same time, residents and local organizations want affordable and reliable heat and electricity, even when market prices fluctuate due to daily and seasonable imbalances, or due to wars and crises. ACCU helps make that step by supporting local energy communities, where residents, municipalities, and other partners make shared agreements about generating, storing, and using energy.
Three local energy communities
Within ACCU, three local energy communities will be set up in Arnhem, Bruges, and Fourmies. In these communities, partners will test smart energy systems that connect renewable electricity and heat more effectively, for example by storing solar energy locally and using it later as heat. The project does not only look at technology. It also studies rules and regulations, how to set up an energy community that governs the local energy system, and a workable financial approach. This helps these communities relieve pressure on the grid, share energy at fair and stable prices, and gain ownership and control over their own energy supply.
Going beyond pilots
The goal is to make the lessons from the pilots useful for other communities in Northwest Europe. That is why ACCU is organized into three work packages. In work package 1, the project maps the main bottlenecks and local needs and develops solutions and strategies to address them. In work package 2, solutions are tested in the three pilots, with attention to technology, regulation, community building, and finances. In work package 3, the results are turned into training and practical guidance for other energy communities.
Eindhoven University of Technology leads work package 1 and explores social-organizational challenges and solutions, mostly related to developing energy communities to govern local energy systems. This project is led by the City of Arnhem and has a total budget of about 8 million Euros.
Collaborative Partners
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Eindhoven University of Technology
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Municipality of Arnhem, Netherlands
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City of Bruges, Belgium
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City of Fourmies, France
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Enedis, France
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Energy Cities, France
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OpenRemote, Netherlands
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Rijn and IJssel Energy Cooperative, Netherlands
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University of Picardy Jules Verne, France
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Veolia Environmental Services, Belgium
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Vivendo BV, Belgium
