COPPER
Creating, Optimising, and Planning Positive EneRgy Districts: Connecting Citizens’ Energy at Different Geographical Levels
- Category
- Project
- Call
- DUT Call 2022
- Duration
- –
- Project coordinator
- Stichting Radboud Universiteit
The COPPER project addresses the challenge of rising energy prices across Europe, which directly affect households and increase the urgency of making the energy transition inclusive. Citizens increasingly want to play an active role, but energy-vulnerable groups are often not reached. COPPER responds by co-developing peer-to-peer (P2P) citizen-based support and information systems that are inclusive of these groups and foster active energy citizenship. A further challenge is how Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) can be embedded in the wider energy system by linking supply, demand, and storage, and by developing reliable forms of energy communities with intermediary roles. Across the four participating countries, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway, different conditions apply, as some energy communities are industry-led, others citizen-led, and others supported by local authorities or housing associations. COPPER includes these varieties, always keeping citizens’ roles central.
COPPER helps develop peer-to-peer (P2P) citizen-based support and information systems that are inclusive of energy-vulnerable groups and foster active energy citizenship. In these platforms, information on the energy transition is exchanged and support and coaching are provided to residents. At the same time, the project creates models of energy communities (ECs) and PED archetypes across different scales and national settings, taking into account electricity supply and demand as well as sector coupling with heating, cooling, and transport. By zooming out, COPPER also develops new concepts for strategic spatial energy planning through co-creation with neighborhoods and community networks in the wider urban region. The project is implemented in Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway. Activities already undertaken include citizens-led energy festivals, public dialogues on grid congestion, and workshops on energy poverty. These actions engage residents, stakeholders, and professionals, creating opportunities for co-developing inclusive solutions to systemic challenges.
COPPER aims to deliver an inclusive energy transition by empowering citizens, including vulnerable groups, to actively participate in Energy Communities and Positive Energy Districts. Expected outcomes include an inventory of existing peer-to-peer support systems, the development of innovative PED archetype models, and policy advice that addresses governance barriers and opportunities. In the short term, the project fosters awareness, knowledge-sharing, and stronger collaborations between citizens and stakeholders through activities such as energy festivals and neighborhood workshops. These events highlight pressing issues like energy poverty and grid congestion while co-developing citizen-based solutions. In the longer term, COPPER will compile PED models across national and regional contexts and combine them with P2P support systems to reduce energy poverty and enhance local renewable production. By analyzing and consolidating governance frameworks, the project also supports more transparent and fair approaches. Together, these results strengthen resilient, citizen-driven energy systems and contribute to wider urban transitions outlined in the DUT Roadmap.
Denmark
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Aalborg Universitet, Ebo Consult As, Eigersund Kommune, Iscte - Instituto Universitário De Lisboa, Stichting Hogeschool Van Arnhem Ennijmegen Han, Stiftelsen Ruralis Institutt For Rural- Og Regionalforskning, Svaheia Eiendom As
Contact
Mark Wiering
mark.wiering@ru.nl