The NESOI Islands Facility, part of the Clean Energy for EU Islands Initiative, aims to support and fund island energy transition projects.
Background: Over a number of years, the collaborative work of Island Authorities, Scottish Islands Federation (SIF), European Small Islands Federation (ESIN), Community Energy Scotland and others has aimed to promote to the EU, the unique role and needs of islands in delivering energy transition.
Beginning in 1993 with ISLENET, the first network of island authorities promoting sustainable energy and environmental management, the Pact of Islands and the SMILEGOV project followed, resulting in the development of the Smart Islands Initiative and Declaration.
In 2017, in recognition of the particular set of energy challenges and opportunities faced by islands, the EU commission, together with 14 minsters of energy from member states, signed the “Political Declaration on Clean Energy for EU islands”.
The Clean Energy for EU Islands Initiative (CE4EUi) aims to provide the catalyst needed to enable Europe’s island communities to become leaders in the clean energy transition.
Clean Energy EU islands Secretariat 2018 to 2020
The Secretariat was set up in 2018 to deliver a capacity building and advisory service and to create a new platform for sharing resources and good practice in island energy systems. Initially running for 3 years, there is a possibility that the Secretariat may be extended until June 2021.
The Secretariat supported 26 islands to develop an Energy Transition Plan, including 6 off-grid islands of Scotland (Eigg, Rum, Canna and Muck, Foula and Fair Isle) and islands within the Orkney Renewable Energy Forum. These plans will make it easier for islands to source funding to take forward their projects through the Horizon 2020-funded Clean Energy Islands Facility.
The Secretariat has developed an Islands Transition Handbook and has delivered a series of Webinars (some coming up over March, April, May).
The Secretariat is also developed an online platform to enable all those involved in island energy transition to connect, learn from and train each other, access experts and capacity building materials and work on their transition agendas together. Islands that have signed up to the Clean Energy for EU Islands Pledge be able to access the platform.
Clean Energy EU Islands Facility 2019 to 2023
Building on the work of the Secretariat, from the end of 2019 and until 2023, with €10M from Horizon 2020, the Island Facility will offer the analytical, financial and legal expertise needed to collect additional data and develop concrete investment plans for islands energy transition.
The consortium that won the contract to administer the Facility is NESOI (New Energy Solutions Optimised for Islands). Working closely with the Secretariat, NESOI will provide concrete support to the energy transition process, both at European level and in the implementation of interventions on (at least) 60 beneficiary islands, including training, technical support, co-operation and funding opportunities:
NESOI will help to leverage financial investment and will provide both direct and indirect support for island energy transition projects. The platform where islands can access support for energy transitions plans, as well as access ideas, tools and finance to support their projects, is currently being developed.
