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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core objective: Establish or expand support services aimed at facilitating the setup of new energy communities and the growth of existing ones, specifically Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs).
Target recipient: Organizations, including local/regional governments, energy agencies, and umbrella energy community organizations, capable of providing direct technical support and personalized advice.
MUST state if grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC or SECTOR-AGNOSTIC: SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Energy and Community Development).
Geographic scope: European Union Member States and associated countries. Projects must be implemented within these territories.
Key filtering criteria: Focus on enhancing energy communities, delivering direct human-centered support, and prioritizing areas or activities where energy community development is less mature.
Grant frequency: Part of the LIFE 2025-2027 Work Programme, indicating potential for recurring calls within this period.

Financial Structure

Funding mechanism: Grant (specifically, LIFE Project Grants, delivered as LIFE Action Grant Budget-Based).
EU Contribution guideline: Proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to 1.75 EUR million are considered appropriate. This is a guideline, and proposals requesting other amounts may still be submitted and selected.
Funding rate: The grant will cover 95.0% of eligible costs.
Co-financing: A co-financing contribution of 5.0% is required from the beneficiaries, as the funding rate is 95%.
Eligible costs: While not exhaustively detailed, generally cover costs associated with direct technical support, personalized advice, staffing, training, and capacity building activities directly related to energy community development.
Ineligible costs: Developing new tools, databases, or digital platforms is generally not expected, unless their added value is clearly justified and scale-up potential addressed.
Currency: All financial amounts are in EUR.
Minimum grant amount: Not explicitly specified for individual projects.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type

Eligible: Relevant local actors such as local or regional governments, energy agencies, umbrella energy community organizations (e.g., federations, associations of energy cooperatives).
Any legal entity or organization with proven capacity to deliver the specified support services.

Consortium Requirements

Mandatory: Proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

Geographic Location

Applicants and project activities must be based in and implemented within European Union Member States or associated countries.

Scope Requirements

Services provided must specifically support Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as defined by Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and/or Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) as defined by Directive (EU) 2019/944.
The support services must involve direct technical support and personalized advice covering various phases of project development (e.g., access to finance, business model definition, legal advice, energy commercialization, operational assistance).
Approaches relying primarily on generic information, guidance materials, or online platforms with limited or no direct human interaction are not considered relevant or eligible for this grant.
Projects must demonstrate complementarity with existing national enabling frameworks and local support initiatives for energy communities.
Projects should actively utilize and build upon existing resources and networks (e.g., European Energy Communities Facility, Citizen Energy Advisory Hub).
Development of new tools, databases, or digital platforms is generally discouraged unless their added value compared to existing solutions is clearly justified and their potential for scale-up beyond the project is convincingly demonstrated.

Capacity and Experience

Applicants must demonstrate strong support from key stakeholders (e.g., local or regional authorities) either through their direct participation in the consortium or a robust strategy for their involvement.
A credible approach for reaching and engaging energy community project developers must be outlined, tailored to the specificities of the targeted territories and inclusive of diverse member types.
Adequate training and capacity building for staff delivering the services or other actors essential for project implementation (including local/regional authority staff, community members, installers) must be foreseen.

Application Process

Application Deadline

Submission deadline: 2025-09-23 00:00:00+0000.
The submission session opened on 2025-04-24.

Application Procedure

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Electronic Submission Service available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
The application process is a single-stage submission.

Required Documentation

Applicants must use the standard application form specific to this call (LIFE SAP and OAG), available in the Submission System.
A detailed budget table (LIFE format) must be provided.
Participant information (LIFE format) is required.
Admissibility conditions, including proposal page limits and layout, are detailed in section 5 of the call document (specifically Part B of the Application Form).

Support and Resources

Applicants can seek support from their National Contact Point (NCP).
Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk for technical issues, the Online Manual for step-by-step guidance, and available info session recordings and presentations.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Expected impacts are to be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after its conclusion.
Progress will be tracked against topic-specific and common LIFE CET indicators.
A compelling plan demonstrating the continuity of support services beyond the project's funding lifetime is a key requirement.

Evaluation Criteria

Impact and Expected Outcomes

Concrete and quantifiable impacts of planned activities must be presented, with projections for the end of the project and for 5 years post-completion.
Quantification of topic-specific impacts, common LIFE Clean Energy Transition (CET) indicators (e.g., primary/final energy savings, renewable energy generation, GHG emission reduction, triggered investments), and project-specific performance indicators.
Credible linkage between reported figures and the proposed activities.
Specific topic indicators include: number of fully implemented/operational/tested energy community services (triggering first investments), number of benefitting energy communities (new/existing), amount of in-person support (full-time equivalent person months), number of established energy communities (RECs/CECs), number of new members (citizens/organizations), number/type of stakeholders with increased skills, number of local/regional authorities committed to replication, and (where relevant) number of mutualizing groupings of energy communities.

Quality and Relevance

Clear identification and justification of the entity/entities responsible for delivering the support services.
Detailed specification of the type of support provided and its implementation methodology, including staffing and communication channels.
Service design must be well-justified by the specific local/regional challenges it aims to address.
Priority consideration will be given to proposals focusing on geographic areas where energy communities are less developed, or on types of activities where fewer community experiences currently exist (e.g., community heating and cooling, citizen-led renovation, flexibility).

Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainability

A compelling plan to ensure the continuity of the support services beyond the lifetime of the project is required.
Strong and credible engagement with necessary stakeholders, either through direct consortium participation or a convincing involvement strategy, is essential.
The approach to reaching and engaging energy community project developers must be adaptable to local specificities and demonstrate how it will include diverse types of members.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must comply with Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (revised Renewable Energy Directive) for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs).
Projects must comply with Directive (EU) 2019/944 (Directive on common rules for the internal electricity market) for Citizen Energy Communities (CECs).
Compliance with broader EU regulations such as LIFE Regulation 2021/783 and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is required.

Ethical Standards and Project Focus

Projects are expected to deliver broader community benefits, including potential for lower energy prices, local employment generation, enhanced social cohesion, and inclusion.

Data Protection and Security

Applicants should refer to the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement for requirements related to data protection and privacy.

Special Considerations

A strong emphasis is placed on direct human interaction in the provision of support services; proposals focusing predominantly on generic information provision, guidance materials, or online platforms with limited direct human engagement will not be considered relevant.
Proposals that involve the mutualization or sharing of services by umbrella energy community organizations or groupings of energy communities are specifically encouraged.
Priority will be given to projects that focus on geographic areas where energy communities are currently less developed or on types of activities where community experiences are less prevalent (e.g., community heating and cooling, citizen-led renovation, flexibility projects).
Projects must ensure complementarity with and leverage existing national enabling frameworks, local support mechanisms, and established resources/networks (e.g., European Energy Communities Facility, Citizen Energy Advisory Hub).
Development of new tools, databases, or digital platforms is generally not expected. If proposed, their added value compared to existing solutions must be clearly justified, and a convincing plan for their potential scale-up beyond the project must be presented.

Grant Details