Strasbourg’s collective and locally anchored energy transition journey

“As everyone was working hand in hand and actively involving citizens throughout the project, they managed to produce and sell energy from a renewable source to local citizens at the best price.” That’s the story we’ll be able to tell about the city of Strasbourg in a few years. But to get there, there are many crucial steps to make this story come true.

Building a strong partnership from the beginning

The first ingredient in the recipe for success is bringing together every representative of society: citizens, municipalities, and partners, so they can design energy solutions that are inclusive, tailored to local needs, and sustainable. Together, they are a Local Energy Community (LEC) and play a crucial role in the energy transition.

In Strasbourg, the LEC is composed of the Eurométropole de Strasbourg, the local authority that geographically covers the Strasbourg metropolitan area, the citizens’ cooperative Les Brasseurs d’Énergie(s), and the Local Climate Agency. Les Brasseurs d’Énergie(s) brings citizen engagement and local ownership, while the Eurométropole of Strasbourg provides access to rooftops and embeds energy cooperatives into its broader Sustainable Metropolis Plan. The Agence du Climat plays a coordinating role, supporting both the cooperative and the municipality in translating strategy into practice. The Eurométropole has supported the emergence of the citizens’ cooperative and has been working with them since its official creation in 2020. One flagship initiative of the LEC is the Louvois project.

The Louvois project: from local production to local consumption

The Louvois Primary School is owned by the Eurométropole and operated by the citizens’ cooperative. In 2023, they installed 165m² of solar panels on the school’s roof and completed the installation in June 2025. The two PV plants now offer a combined capacity of 69 kWp. For now, the electricity produced on the Louvois roof is sold directly to the grid. The partnership aims to shift from this model toward connecting local production and local consumption, establishing a collective self-consumption model.

The school is located close to the bustling city centre and offers high potential for a more integrated energy system. The LEC aims to engage nearby households and businesses within a two-kilometre radius, connecting them to the production and enabling them to use locally produced renewable energy.

To attract them, the LEC needs to define an attractive purchase price and connect with future local customers, the next key steps in advancing this project.

This project is a concrete example of Strasbourg’s commitment to ensuring a fair, inclusive, and locally anchored energy transition.

Read more about the Louvois project here, and learn more about Strasbourg’s energy transition here.