CER Greenland
Cimbrian Plateau | Italy 🇮🇹
CER Greenland operates on the Cimbrian Plateau, an upland area between mountains and pastures, far from the towns on the valley floor – due to its location, this area has always required independent services, including its own energy supply. Thanks to high demand, the energy community initiative was launched alongside other activities of CER Greenland. Within AGRICOM, the goal is to develop advanced financing and sharing models and engage a larger number of members. The work starts with a comprehensive overview of the project’s prospects and feasibility studies.
Federazione Trentina della Cooperazione (FTC) helps Italian AGRICOM pilots reach their energy community goals. Founded in 1895, it contributes to the social and economic resilience of communities and territories through cooperative entrepreneurship.
➔ How did the pilot join AGRICOM?
Greenland discovered the project via FTC’s communication materials. It saw AGRICOM’s support as an oppotrunity for growth of their already established energy community in the realms where they lacked in-house expertise, such as big-scale financial planning.
➔ What made the pilot stand out?
CER Greenland is a community cooperative that is recognized as a local driver of change. It already has in-house skills and is ready to experiment. With its well-established relationship with the local community, involving residents in investments looks realistic, too.
➔ What does the pilot already have in place?
CER Greenland is already operating its electricity generation installations. Thanks to the expertise of its members, it also identified where its current set-up falls short; to benefit from the economies of scale, further membership base growth is required.
➔ How will AGRICOM help?
Economic feasibility: An economic feasibility analysis will show which development areas CER Greenland should focus on.
Business planning: The central issue is the investment model. AGRICOM will help design a differentiated scheme that lets locals take part in building a collective installation, possibly combined with storage.
Outreach: For the investment model to work, AGRICOM will clarify the benefits of joining the energy community for the residents, both from the financial and community wellbeing perspective.
➔ Future vision: what will you achieve together?
CER Greenland aims to achieve economic stability in the community thanks to the new investments and installations – it aims at substantial local development that will continuously and organically attract new members.
➔ What should the pilot keep in mind?
The benefits of energy communities are not only financial but, more importantly, societal and environmental. CER Greenland should approach public engagement in a way that presents these benefits together to increase interest from the local farmers.