Round Table On "Opportunities and Challenges for the Formation of Energy Cooperatives in the Republic of Serbia."

Round Table On "Opportunities and Challenges for the Formation of Energy Cooperatives in the Republic of Serbia." Niš Science Technology Park 15/10/2021 The City of Niš, the Center for Civil Society Development Protecta and the Science Technology Park Niš organized the Round Table "Opportunities and Challenges for the Establishment of Energy Cooperatives in the Republic of Serbia". The Round Table was one of the events in Niš marking European Week of Local Democracy. The Round Table brought together representatives of local self-government, city institutions, business sector, public companies, civil society organizations, representatives of the university community. The organization of the Round Table was supported by Horizon 2020 mPOWER Project which focusses on how municipalities are managing the energy transition in a fair, clean and democratic way. Some European cities, particularly in Germany, Denmark and France, have made innovations in the energy sector management, from running distribution networks, supply companies, and renewable generation, to facilitating citizen participation processes, to sourcing public/alternative finance for energy projects. Other cities across Europe are exploring their options for municipal energy, and are looking to learn. mPOWER maps existing municipal energy policy and identify innovations, as well as obstacles and barriers. Through city-to-city conversations best practices that have led to more equitable, just and participative energy policies are identified and shared. What energy cooperatives are, how to register them, what the experiences in Serbia and the region are, who benefits of these cooperatives, are just some of the issues discussed at the Round Table. The panelist with a lot of experience in this field focused on issues such as ensuring a market-sustainable system based on renewable energy sources, sustainable energy use, involving the local community in energy-related projects. The representatives of the only two energy cooperatives registered in Serbia, Ana Džoki? and Dubravka Živkovi? on behalf of the Energy Cooperative "Elektropionir" from Belgrade, and Slobodan Jeroti?, the representative of the Energy Cooperative "Sun?ani krovovi" from Šabac, addressed the gathering. Goran ?a?i? from the "Green Energy Cooperative" from Križevci shared Croatia's experiences, and Bojan Gaji?, City of Niš Energy Manager, spoke about the capacities of the local self-government to help citizens switch to alternative energy sources. From the point of view of the business sector, Andrija Petruši?, the energy manager of the company "United Green Energy", spoke about the problems that arised in the purchase of electricity produced in this way and the challenges of commercialization of the use of alternative energy sources. Milan Stefanovi?, the representative of the Center for Civil Society Development Protecta, spoke about the role of civil society, networking of the sector and education of citizens. The representative of the RES Foundation, Jasminka Oliveri? Young, drew attention to the issue of legal regulations, and professor of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Niš, Goran Vu?kovi?, spoke about the need for greater use of thermal energy. Educational activities for citizens in the coming period regarding energy cooperatives and energy efficiency were announced at the occasion. The meeting was opened by Milan Randjelovi?, the director of the Science Technology Park Niš, where the round table was held. Science Technology Park Niš is the part of the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community) Hub working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society by building an active and vibrant ecosystem of professionals, businesses and citizens that will drive the shift towards a regenerative, circular society. You can watch the round table "Opportunities and challenges for the formation of energy cooperatives in the Republic of Serbia" recorded via the zoom application at the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdDyUFdpIHg