EnerCmed Project: Advancing Energy-Positive and Climate-Resilient Hinterlands through Renewable Energy Communities and Nature-Based Solutions

The EnerCmed project introduces an innovative paradigm to foster energy-positive and climate-resilient hinterlands, with a focus on marginalized neighborhoods in port cities that are exposed to energy poverty. By integrating Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Self-Consumption Schemes (SCSs) with Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), the project aims to demonstrate a scalable model for sustainable urban energy transitions. Supported by ten international partners across the Mediterranean region, EnerCmed moves beyond conventional energy planning by merging REC/SCS governance models with localized climate resilience strategies, ensuring that sustainability efforts directly benefit vulnerable communities. The project comprises five pilot actions located in Genoa (Italy), Valencia (Spain), Patras (Greece), Pula (Croatia), and Novigrad (Croatia). In these cities, six REC/SCS will be established in marginalized port hinterlands to engage public entities and users affected by energy poverty and climate change. The EnerCmed framework is founded on three key technical principles: 1. Energy Communities and Self-Consumption Schemes; 2. Urban Heat Island (UHI) Mitigation; 3. Energy Poverty Shielding. A defining feature of EnerCmed is its transnational Knowledge Facility Instrument (KFI), which serves as a technical and governance support mechanism. The project includes a multi-city replication program, with Larnaka, Cyprus, serving as the first metareplicator city. This initiative equips additional Mediterranean cities with the tools and methodologies needed to adopt and scale up the REC-NBS hybrid approach. Alongside the technical additions from the perspective of renewable technologies, the EnerCmed project is engaged in a fundamental activity of social value. A comprehensive communication campaign in the pilot cities aims to raise citizens' awareness of the importance of various aspects of a green transition.