European Energy Communities Facility - apply for funding

The Reef
, , ,
1

hi @Sterre @alberto

I watched the webinar that you can find on the site of the European Energy Communities Facility.

Here is a summary of that webinar:" Recording first call for applications info session - Belgium (Dutch)" that you can find on their webside

  • reescoop.vlaanderen is their to support energy communities in Flanders and Brussels to create and implement a solid business plan. (reescoop wallonia is their to support energy communities in Wallonia)

  • there is 45 000 euro funding/energy community (if your application is approved and selected) + support to make your business plan

  • there are 2 calls for proposals

    • first one has passed - 30 september 2025

    • second one is foreseen in spring 2026

  • there will only be 7 energy communites that will be selected in Belgium (Flanders-Bxls-Wallonia), over the 2 rounds of applications

  • Result of the applications of the 1st call will be knows on December 22nd 2025

  • the different phases of the application/selection

    • register on the application platform (allready did it with the reef account)

    • eligibility self-check (support from reescoop vlaanderen)

    • fill in application form (support from reescoop vlaanderen)

    • evaluation phase, with the result 3 months after the deadline of the application

    • within 2 months: signing of the grant agreement

    • business plan development and capacity building activities (within 6 monhs after signing

    • business plan validation

    • complete monitoring surveys (6 months past business plan)

  • Eligibility

    • be a legal entity with an enterprise number

    • Operate in an eligible country (Belgium is one of them)

    • Comply with the EU definition of an Energy Community:

    • Commit to monitoring and impact reporting

  • On what will they base their evaluation?

    • There are four section that your proposal will be evaluated on
    • For each section you can obtain a maximum amount of points and you need to obtain for each section a minimum amount of points. In total you also need to have a minimum of 15/25 points

2025-11-10_21h19_18
2025-11-10_21h19_18771×473 225 KB

  • What does the business plan include

    • financial analysis

    • technical analysis

    • market research

    • social and community oriented part. (they stressed that this is an important part: social inclusion, participation of citizens,…)

    • legal part

fyi: i subscribed to the newsletter so the reef mailbox should receive it.

So my question after seeing this is: should we wait till next year to write the business plan with support of professionals (even though chances will not be high we will be selected)?

I also have the impression this will be quite some time investment (if we would be selected) and I wonder if we will have that time.

3 Likes
2

Great catch, Els!

My two cents here are:

  • We are definitely applying. If we win, that’s great, but even if we do not we gain clarity on the energy community project.
  • We start working as soon as we have capacity on the business plan. No point in waiting around.
1 Like
3

Thank you, Els. I agree with Alberto - we should definitely apply. Let’s speak more this weekend.

1 Like
4

@els , @Sterre, I discovered there is a potential way to speed up this sort of learning: this conference takes place in Brussels on December 10th. It centers on something called the Citizen Energy Advisory Hub.

Deadline for in-person registration is December 1.

2 Likes
5

Interesting! I’m working on mondays, so I won’t be able to attend… maybe we organise a meeting after?

1 Like
6

Great! I registered.

1 Like