LIFE LOOP – Local Ownership Of Power
We support cities and citizens in creating their energy community.
The community energy accreditation is Europe’s first scheme recognising municipalities that show foresight on energy communities. It is free of charge and designed to take as little time as possible for local authority staff.
The scheme is open to all municipalities that want to show their commitment to empowering and speeding up the creation of energy communities in their area. It is also a great way to partner with them, whether they are at the start of their community energy journey or further along.
Want to join?
- Step 1: Download and sign the accreditation scheme charter.
- Step 2: Complete at least one of these steps: the Espresso training (at least 2 modules) or list your municipal assets on the matchmaking tool (see full journey below).
- Step 3: Email your signed charter to shine@energy-cities.eu and we’ll send you your certificate.
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We recommend starting with the self-assessment tracker (about 15 minutes) to see where you stand.
The scheme was launched by LIFE LOOP and is now continued by SHINE until at least 2028.
1 – Self-assessment tracker
Assess your current status with the self-assessment tracker: How much of a community energy supporter is your municipality and what is missing?
Practically this means: a civil servant of the city administration fills out the questionnaire on the self-assessment tracker packer with 17 questions related to different ways of municipal support for energy communities, leading to a final assessment report. This should not take more than 15 minutes. Once the questionnaire is completed the municipality will see how it ranks in 3 support levels:
- “Not yet supportive”
- “Somewhat supportive”
- “Fully supportive” to community energy
2 – Espresso training
Encourage in-house capacity-building, i.e. providing staff time to develop new skills and knowledge through the self-paced online Community Energy Espresso course. It is available in many different languages.
Modules and civil servants can be freely chosen by the municipal decision-makers according to relevance and local needs. Each module is designed in a way as to be completed by a civil servant in 2-3 hours.
🚨The 2026 round of the EU Espresso in English is running: Espresso website.
3 – Asset match-making tool
List municipal assets on the LIFE LOOP asset match-making tool and link up with new or existing energy communities in your area to maximise local benefits. Those assets can then be allocated to local project developers following local legal requirements.
Practically this means: A designated civil servant identifies assets such as available roofs, land or retrofit opportunities that could be used for potential community energy projects. This will enable the municipality, as asset holders, to show their readiness for community energy and to find the perfect partner amongst local stakeholders. This should not take more than 5 minutes per asset.
