Renewables

Croatian energy cooperative KLIK is helping citizens produce their own energy

EUSEW 2023 Presentation of finalists – KLIK energy community in Croatia bringing clean energy to citizens

Photo: KLIK

Published

May 30, 2023

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

May 30, 2023

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

The Križevci Laboratory for Innovation in Climate – KLIK is an energy community of citizens created in 2020 within the Future Cities of South East Europe initiative. The cooperative helps locals develop climate and energy projects and encourages them to invest in renewable energy.

KLIK reached the final stage of this year’s EUSEW Awards competition, in the Local Energy Action category. At the same time, it is one of the two finalists from Southeastern Europe.

Križevci Laboratory for Innovation in Climate KLIK

In the first two years, the KLIK energy community helped households to install residential solar power panels of 277 kW in total. The investment is valued at EUR 500,000. Half was covered with grants from the City of Križevci while homeowners paid for the remainder.

KLIK
Photo: KLIK

The installed photovoltaics will produce an estimated 289 MWh of renewable electricity per year, resulting in a reduction of annual CO2 emissions by 54 tonnes. In addition to the deployment of solar energy, KLIK’s activity has also strengthened the local economy and resulted in the creation of 15 jobs.

“KLIK is a unique energy cooperative helping citizens in the energy transition,” its Project Manager Sanela Mikulčič Šantić said. “We are engaging with the community by collaborating with local organisations. In the last two years we organised 22 lectures, with close to 400 participants. Through this we are trying to impart the community with knowledge and connect them with other relevant stakeholders to make a more resilient community.”

“The energy climate office is a place where citizens can meet, talk, and go to for information. It is also a place to further inspire others and it most definitely has an active role in the whole energy transition,” adds Mario Rajn, Mayor of Križevci.

He says he sees citizens as a key driver of the energy transition, “We want to be energy independent by 2030 and we cannot establish nor achieve anything without citizens,” Rajn pointed out.

EUSEW Awards 2023

Winners of the European Sustainable Energy Awards (EUSEW Awards) for 2023 will be announced on June 20. A total of nine finalists in the categories of Innovation, Local Energy Action and Woman in Energy are on the shortlist of this year’s most successful projects. Voting is online and open until June 11.

The awards recognize outstanding individuals and projects for their innovation and efforts in the field of energy efficiency and renewables.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

hybrid solar projects LCOE batteries BESS wind solarpower europe

Hybrid solar cuts levelized cost of electricity 10% compared to standalone projects

31 March 2025 - Hybrid solar supports system flexibility, improves the cost-effectiveness of an asset, and makes energy generation more reliable

ja solar Borussia Dortmund signal iduna park

Largest solar power plant on football stadium to be installed at Signal Iduna Park

28 March 2025 - The home of Borussia Dortmund is set to become the site of the world's largest solar power plant installed on a stadium roof

Sungrow ESS Experience Day Munich accelerating sustainable future Europe

Sungrow ESS Experience Day Munich: accelerating to a sustainable future for Europe

28 March 2025 - Experts from across Europe exchanged thoughts at ESS Experience Day in Munich on the role of energy storage systems for grid support and the energy transition

Greece first solar panel recycling machine Crete

Greece’s first solar panel recycling machine installed in Crete

28 March 2025 - Greek company Katheris said it installed the country's first solar panel recycling machine. It's one of few such endeavors in the region