Cross-Border Energy Communities (CBEC) [2025-2027]

Project duration : From 01/05/2025 to 31/07/2027
Total project budget : €489, 999 
ERDF contribution : €489,999  (100%)
MOT budget : €244,998 €
Partners : Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Transfrontier Operational Mission (MOT)
Funding : DG REGIO, European Commission

For two and a half years, the Cross-Border Energy Communities project, coordinated by the MOT and the AEBR, supports the development of Energy Communities involving actors and resources located on both sides of an EU border. The project supports the implementation of seven pilot communities, selected through a call for proposals (open between July and November 2025).

Energy Communities are citizen-led initiatives. They are recognised and regulated by European legislation, which sees them as an effective lever for action and implementation of the energy transition at the local level. Bringing together citizens, businesses and public actors, energy communities organise themselves to produce, generate, distribute or promote sustainable energy in their territory.

The project coordinated by the MOT and the AEBR follows on from the publication of the Handbook for Cross-Border Energy Communities, published by the European Commission in January 2025, which examined the criteria for deploying cross-border energy communities in the EU, the stages of creation, the actors to be mobilised and the potential obstacles to their implementation.

The project aims to study and encourage the establishment of these energy communities in cross-border territories. Through the implementation of pilot actions, a study is conducted on the obstacles, good practices and methods enabling the emergence of cross-border energy communities.

The pilots selected through the call have twelve months to develop and perfect the establishment of their cross-border energy community. They will receive €15,000 in financial support and technical assistance from experts at REScoop.eu, the European Federation of Energy Communities.