On Monday 7 November at 4:30 pm, the photovoltaic system installed at the primary school of the Istituto Comprensivo Sant'Elia - Commenda in Brindisi will be inaugurated by the mayor. The action was realized by the Municipality of Brindisi, Lead Partner of CO-CLEAN.

The intervention aims not only to improve the energy efficiency of the building and reduce its electricity consumption but also to actively involve and benefit the neighbourhood families who will join the energy community. In particular, the photovoltaic plant will be connected to the public grid and will supply energy to the school itself and to the households of the energy community. Consequently, energy bills will be reduced, bringing economic and environmental benefits to the local community.

Moreover, on the same day at 6:00 pm, at the Casa di Quartiere - Parco Buscicchio always in Brindisi, the dissemination event of the CO-CLEAN results and the information campaign on the theme of renewable communities will take place, with the aim to raise awareness about the benefits for those joining the renewable energy community.

The pilot action at the “Istituto Comprensivo Sant'Elia-Commenda”, in addition to the above-mentioned advantages, will provide students and citizens with an educational opportunity to learn about real-world energy issues. Not only does the installation of photovoltaic panels at schools open the door to critical thinking and discussions about renewable energy sources, efficiency and generation, but it also promotes a sustainable culture among the new generations in line with the “Recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development” adopted by the Council of the European Union in June 2022.

The CO-CLEAN “Co-designed and implementation of local sustainable energy action” project is funded by the Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro Programme 2014/2020. The overall objective of the project is to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies in several public buildings through the implementation of innovative and consolidated actions, training and awareness-raising activities. In this sense, all the pilot actions of the project are inspired by the principles of energy democracy, consistent with EU DIRECTIVE 2018/2001, and aim at creating an energy community composed by active citizens or “prosumers” and SMEs. The other project partners are the Municipality of Racale, the Consortium for the Industrial Development of the Biferno Valley, the Municipality of Valona and the Municipality of Berane.