Community energy for social housing in Mechelen

Over the past years, the Belgian city of Mechelen has been taking important steps towards climate neutrality both with in-depth roadmaps and concrete projects making things happen on the ground. This year, their long-standing efforts have propelled them into the spotlight on the European stage. Winners of the 2025 Covenant of Mayors Award, celebrating their bold vision in heat decarbonisation, they now have a project finalist of the EUSEW award in the Local Energy Action category.

But recognition of Mechelen’s efforts is not just linked to how many tonnes of CO₂ they have managed to cut out from their emissions, but how they are bringing everyone along in their city’s transformation. Widespread participation is at the core of their work – as seen with their Heat Coalition bringing together over 25 key stakeholders in the heating sector, from businesses to universities, civil society and social organisations, around their heat decarbonisation strategy.

Inspired by the approach of the Tomorrow Project, the collective engagement around Mechelen’s decarbonisation roadmap has put communities and social inclusion at the heart of their journey. The community energy project contending for this year’s EUSEW Award title is yet another sign of this.

Find out more about Mechelen’s heat strategy in our latest City Stories Podcast episode.

Pairing energy communities with social housing

The Community Energy for Social Housing project in Otterbeek is the first Belgian social housing energy community. This initiative, developed by the City of Mechelen together with the citizens’ energy cooperative Klimaan and housing corporation Woonland, strongly supported by the TANDEMS project, has equipped 200 social housing units with rooftop solar panels.

The neighbourhood of Otterbeek in Mechelen is a social housing district built in the 1950s, characterised by neatly organised strips of brick homes counting hundreds of households.

Situated on the outskirts of Mechelen, the neighbourhood feels somewhat tucked away, surrounded by major roads, an industrial site, a hospital, and a park. Yet this unique location also gives it a strong sense of community. With the park just a short walk away and nearby play areas that draw children and young people of all ages, the area is warm, inclusive, and inviting – a welcoming place to call home.

Building on the strong community that characterises it, the crucial collaboration behind the energy community project – bringing together city, social housing company and citizen movements – has transformed the neighbourhood’s energy landscape.

First in a physical way: now, an aerial view of the neat rows of houses will show you perfectly uninterrupted solar-panel-laden roofs. These panels now produce around 683,000 kWh of renewable energy per year, avoiding an estimated 130 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

But such transformation has also brought real social impact: inside these homes, residents now have access to stable, low-priced electricity that is fixed for 20 years. This guarantees affordable energy for everyone in the neighbourhood for decades to come.

The Otterbeek energy community has been especially critical in stabilising energy prices for vulnerable tenants, ensuring that residents pay no more than energy community 90% of the subsidised energy tariffs, or a maximum of 20 eurocents per kilowatt-hour.

More than just an energy community

The Otterbeek community has extended its services beyond energy. They have also installed two shared electrical vehicles as well as a system of bicycle taxis for people from the neighbourhood who cannot cycle themselves, run by volunteers.

Through citizen financing, energy sharing, and close collaboration with housing associations, Otterbeek has become a reference model across Europe for integrating social inclusion into the energy transition.

In Otterbeek, we are showing how energy communities can thrive in social housing environments. Through close collaboration between municipalities, housing associations, and residents, we are building a local energy system that empowers people to produce, share, and benefit from renewable energy together.

Bart de Bruyne, City of Mechelen

The Otterbeek community energy project has inspired other community-based initiatives across the city, serving as a sort of launching pad for Mechelen’s inclusive transition. It has pushed the City to further explore ways of embedding decarbonisation projects in social housing neighbourhoods. Whether by rolling out district heating or renovating buildings in districts with social housing, Mechelen knows it needs to bring the benefits of the transition directly to the communities that need it the most.

Inspired? Show your support for a fellow Energy Cities member and vote for the Otterbeek project with just one click!