ACCU - Accelerate energy CommUnities in cities via local solar energy storage and heat

The ACCU project (ACcelerate energy CommUnities) is an Interreg North‑West Europe–funded initiative dedicated to developing integrated solutions that connect local renewable electricity generation with collective heating systems in Local Energy Communities (LECs). Operating with a budget of nearly €8 million funded by Interreg NWE, the project involves municipalities, research institutions, citizen groups, social housing corporations, and energy cooperatives across Arnhem (NL), Bruges (BE), and Fourmies (FR). Its overarching ambition is to accelerate the emergence of sustainable, affordable, reliable, inclusive, and integrated local energy systems.

A central focus is balancing local energy supply and demand on both real‑time and seasonal scales. By leveraging integrated solutions (including solar generation, energy storage, and thermal systems) communities aim to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, ease strain on national grids, and foster local energy self‑sufficiency. One example is a pilot in Arnhem, where local energy sharing is combined with a seasonal heat storage system repurposed from an old bunker, enabling excess summer solar energy to be used during winter.

Key Project Activities
The project addresses the interplay of technological, regulatory, organizational, and financial factors that determine how LECs can successfully adopt integrated renewable energy systems. Research and implementation partners collaborate on several core activities:

1. Assessing Challenges in Local Solar Energy Storage
Multiple partners conduct analyses to understand how local solar energy storage can be organized effectively within LECs. This includes studying the integration of storage technologies, exploring regulatory barriers, assessing financial feasibility, and monitoring the performance of solutions tested in the pilot communities.

2. Understanding Community Needs and Stakeholder Dynamics
The project places strong emphasis on socio‑organizational aspects. Research teams evaluate the needs, preferences, and roles of stakeholders (including residents, local authorities, and energy cooperatives) to ensure that integrated energy solutions are both socially inclusive and practically implementable. These insights guide the design of tailored solutions for each pilot location.

3. Developing Guidelines and Capacity‑Building Tools
Partners jointly develop guidelines, training activities, and workshop formats to support the scaling of successful approaches. These tools aim to strengthen local capacity for governance, technical decision‑making, and long‑term operation of energy communities, enabling replication across other regions in North‑West Europe.

4. Fostering Cross‑Regional Collaboration
To support broader uptake, the project emphasizes collaboration among municipalities, citizens, research organizations, and industry partners. This includes shared learning across pilots, community‑driven planning processes, and dissemination of best practices to encourage the formation and strengthening of LECs beyond the core pilot regions.

Expected Impact
Through its integrated approach, the ACCU project aims to:
- Provide stable, affordable, and fair access to locally produced renewable electricity and heat.
- Increase resilience through combined short‑term and seasonal energy storage strategies.
- Reduce dependency on fossil fuels and lessen grid congestion.
- Create replicable models for community‑centred energy solutions across North‑West Europe.
- Support just, inclusive energy transitions by ensuring that community members meaningfully benefit from new systems.