Portuguese Community of Practice

The 1st CoP Meeting took place on April 2nd with 28 participants. The session introduced the ENTRACK project, outlining its goals, scope, and recent activities, while also explaining the purpose of a Community of Practice (CoP). Details of existing project resources and links to the CoP LinkedIn page were shared to facilitate knowledge exchange between members. The session was then opened to gather members’ thoughts and reflections on the desired outcomes of the Portuguese CoP.  Key themes discussed included the installation of large-scale solar parks in the Alto Alentejo region and community energy alternatives, the potential for municipal energy ownership, and questions of citizen interest in energy issues. A Mentimeter activity evaluated the interests of CoP members and ideas for follow-up session topics, with the top priority topic identified as Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). The meeting concluded with reflections on the disconnection between citizens and local policy, as well as strategies for better community involvement.   

The 4th Portuguese CoP entitled “One Stop Shops and Energy Efficiency Financing schemes” was held online on the 12th of December 2025, with 32 participants attending. The session had three invited guest speakers.
The first guest speaker from CENSE, NOVA FCT, focused on national-scale One Stop Shops (OSS’s) and funding schemes, sharing the case of the online platform “renovarcasa” developed under the EU LIFE project HORIS. The second presented the Cascais Green Fund for Families (Fundo Verde Cascais), which supports the adoption of energy-efficiency measures in vulnerable households. The third speaker presented the work developed under the Porto Energy Hub. Common themes of the presentations included identifying and targeting vulnerable consumers; the strong social dimension of the work, including digital literacy and citizen participation; and the value of collaborating with local social solidarity institutions to gain insights into specific local or municipal contexts.
Once the presentations were complete, an open discussion was held; key takeaways included the role of social organisations and social solidarity institutions in supporting energy efficiency initiatives. The need to adapt and diversify approaches for effective OSS and energy-efficiency financing schemes, targeting, and to employ integrative mechanisms in the interests of optimal resource management and inclusivity.

The 2^nd CoP Meeting, focused on Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), was held on May 12, 2025 with 42 CoP participants. Three guest speakers contributed insights. Two presenting local REC initiatives in Portugal, and one discussing a national energy cooperative that supports decentralized energy production and REC development. Common barriers to REC implementation identified by all speakers included administrative, bureaucratic, financial, legal, informational, and literacy barriers as well as limited political support. The speakers advocated for collaborative action to maintain momentum and increase REC uptake in Portugal, highlighting their own cases as positive examples. The open discussion with CoP members revealed a preoccupation with making RECs truly inclusive, suggesting that proximity to local associations and dedicated energy advice services could be used as tools to achieve this.

The 5th Portuguese CoP entitled “From hosts to beneficiaries – how to ensure a just energy transition in communities surrounded by solar power plants” was held online on the 25th of May 2026, with 37 participants attending. The session had four invited guest speakers. The four speakers brought together complementary perspectives on the relationship between renewable energy development and rural communities. The first speaker, from ZERO, focused on land-use planning for renewables, highlighting the need for a systemic energy transition that combines renewable deployment with energy efficiency, demand reduction, grid reinforcement, and strategic spatial planning. The second, from APREN, discussed opportunities and synergies between renewables and local communities, presenting the role of solar energy in Portugal, community engagement mechanisms, and examples of biodiversity-friendly practices. The third, from CE3C, explored the role of energy sovereignty in rural contexts, focusing on territorial justice, local participation, and the impacts of large-scale energy projects on rural areas. The fourth speaker, from CHANGE, presented a policy brief on solar energy in Portugal, outlining recommendations for a more equitable and sustainable implementation of solar energy. Common themes across the presentations included the tension between centralised renewable energy deployment and local community interests, the importance of meaningful participation and transparency throughout project lifecycles, and the need to move beyond compensation towards prevention of negative impacts on host communities. Once the presentations were complete, an open discussion was held on the implementation of compensation mechanisms, the effectiveness of community participation processes, and the balance between centralised and decentralised energy systems. Key takeaways included the importance of strategic land-use planning and smart siting, prioritising impact prevention over compensation, strengthening local governance and transparency, and ensuring meaningful community involvement throughout project lifecycles.

The 3^rd CoP Meeting, entitled “Energy poverty diagnosis and identification of vulnerable groups at the local scale and in rural areas” was held on July 17, 2025 with 36 participants. Guest speakers from CENSE, NOVA FCT, and ADENE/Portuguese Energy Poverty Observatory presented on diagnosing energy poverty and shared insights into national policy and observatory activities. Both speakers reflected on the ongoing challenges of data availability for measuring energy poverty. The importance oflocal-scale action and the need to design accessible energy poverty policies were central themes of the discussion. In particular, the accessibility of current policies was a divisive topic among session participants, with diverging opinions on whether contemporary policies are effectively reaching energy-poor consumers. The session emphasized the importancelocal-scale policies. Questions of local-scale resource scarcity and the need to enhance energy literacy with improved communication strategies were also key discussion points. The high level of engagement reflected a strong interest in continuing the conversation in future CoP meetings.