On March 14, 2024, the "Green Synergy" Cluster organized a conference on the topic of Energy Communities and Group Financing as part of the SunSharing project in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where experts from the fields presented the legislation and good practices on the topics.
Energy communities are groups of people who together produce energy from renewable sources. It is an association of citizens, with a democratic structure and a common goal that contributes to reducing their bills, achieving independence from large energy producers and contributing to the greener production of electricity for households. Although energy communities are the current topic in Western Europe, in Bulgaria the concept of them was introduced into the legislation quite recently - in October 2023. Crowdfunding initiatives are a method of raising funds through collective efforts. They allow greater independence for projects seeking funding, as they do not depend on a small number of large investors, but on more smaller participants who independently assess the benefits and risks of their investment.
Their potential and accompanying legislation have yet to be developed in Bulgaria, which is why subject matter experts have gathered together to exchange experience and good practices and together lay the foundations for development

The “Great Forum for Energy Communities in Western Macedonia” was organized by the University of Western Macedonia (UOWM) with the contribution of the Regional Union of Municipalities (PED) of Western Macedonia and the Technical and Industrial Chamber of Kozani on Friday 3^rd of November 2023 in the city of Kozani. The event was a huge success with more than 100 participants representing: the local government with both the former and current governors participating, most of the municipalities of the region of Western Macedonia with the respective mayors attending, local businesses, academia and other stakeholders. Two (2) members of the national parliament that represent the region attended the event and participated in the open forum part. The event was greeted by two (2) members of the European Parliament who highlighted the importance of Energy Communities for the region of Western Macedonia and explained their role to the Transition Plan for the region, their potential contribution to the prosperity of the citizens and the actions required for their further development. The first part of the event was focused on analyzing the current status of Energy Communities in the region and raised several questions and issues on how Energy Communities could face energy poverty and contribute in PV penetration towards self-sufficiency increase. The current framework was described and the barriers related to lack of incentives and funding mechanisms for citizens were discussed in detail. Moreover, technical problems regarding the hosting capacity of the grid for new PV systems were highlighted and the need to overcome these issues was strongly pointed out. Finally, representatives of established and operating Energy Communities explained the potentials and benefits for both the participants and the region in general. In the second part of the event the “Sunsharing” project was presented by the project partners. In this session the aim of the project was analyzed, the progress so far was presented and the current state of play for Energy Communities in each project country was discussed. Finally, the potential of the “Crowdfunding” scheme for further development of Energy Communities was explained to the participants by showing good examples across Europe and by highlighting how this scheme could be triggered in the SEE Europe.

SDEWES-Skopje hosted the Forum on Best Practice Examples on Energy Communities in Skopje, at the Holiday Inn Hotel, on December 12, 2023. The event, organized as part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) funded SunSharing Project, provided a great opportunity for sharing experiences about energy communities, not just among partner countries but also across the European Union.