Join our initiative and receive free online sessions to develop a local, community-led district heating & cooling project
Would you like to fight energy poverty and make your city more resilient and energy independent by using the green energy produced locally? District heating and cooling (DHC) can help you reach this important milestone.
Local and regional authorities play a key role in the development of community-led DHC projects by bringing local actors together and providing suitable support. MUSE-DHC offers you a new and free Community of Practice initiative coordinated by Energy Cities. Through at least 4 free online sessions, local and regional authorities will explore how they can support the foundation of community-led district heating and cooling in their cities and regions. Indeed, sharing knowledge with other authorities will help you identify practical ways to move forward and to learn from others’ experiences.
Why to develop a DHC network?
Community-led district heating and cooling can support a more decentralised energy system, with greater local involvement in how the network is planned and managed. Well-designed projects using local renewable energy can improve efficiency, help keep heating and cooling affordable and reduce exposure to geopolitical disruptions and fluctuations in fossil fuel prices.
Throught these continuos exchange, you can improve your knowledge and be part of a network. For municipalities with small teams and limited resources, learning how others have apprached similar challenges can save staff time and help avoid repeating work already done elsewhere.
The first session is planned for the third week of January 2027, followed by sessions in March 2027, May 2027 and autumn 2027. Exact dates and practical details will be shared with the selected participants.
Don’t miss this chance!
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
The call is open to representatives of local and regional authorities, public utility companies and local or regional agencies.
We welcome both participants with experience in district heating and cooling and those taking their first steps and interested in community-led approaches.
We aim to bring together around 20 regular participants. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions and contribute their questions, experiences and challenges to the discussions.
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WHAT TO EXPECT?
This initiative will help you prepare more ambitious heating and cooling plans and identify realistic steps to put them into practice.
The sessions will combine practical examples from MUSE-DHC and other European initiatives with contributions from practitioners and exchanges among participants.
You will learn more about:
- Citizen engagement and local cooperation: how authorities can work with residents, energy communities, public utilities and local businesses;
- RES technologies: which renewable energy sources and technologies can supply community-led DHC;
- Financing and business models: how community led projects can be financed and organised, and how authorities can support community initiatives;
- Local strategies and enabling measures: how to include community-led district heating and cooling in local energy and spatial planning.
The sessions will be held in English and interactive, with time for questions, discussion and debate. Participants are encouraged to bring experiences from their own work, including challenges they would like to explore with the group. We will also set up shared folders where participants can upload useful documents, case studies and practical examples between sessions.
To keep the conversation going between sessions, we also plan to create an online group where members can ask questions, share updates and stay in touch. We will choose the platform and agree on how to use it together with participans based on their needs and preferance.
At least 4 online sessions are planned, with the possibility of continuing the exchanges through additional meetings. As the programme develops, we may also introduce other topics based on participants’ interests, needs and feedback.
The Community of practice is planned to run until mid-2028.
FILL OUT THE FORM BY 18 DECEMBER TO APPLY!
If selected, we will contact you within the first week of January 2027.