COPPER

The Interreg North Sea project Cities for Open and Participative Planning for Electricity Grid Resilience (COPPER) will develop and pilot state-of-the-art solutions for energy planning in decentralised energy systems in six frontrunner municipalities. Through a four year process, COPPER will:

• Deliver six first-of-a-kind pilots for local authority-led energy planning, from logistic parks to electric vehicle (EV) fleets to entire neighbourhoods.
• Explore ways that Distribution System Operators (DSOs) and local authorities can work together to build a local energy system of storage and flexibility technologies, policies, market incentives and collaborations.

• Build data models and other tools to boost local authority’s capacity to understand and steer their local energy system.

10 project partners and 3 sub-partners from 5 countries are working together to realize the urban power grids of the future. Their collaborative efforts aim to increase the use of renewable energies at the local level, enhance network flexibility, and reduce costs for developers and communities. The outcomes of the pilot projects are intended to contribute to the development of long-term locally oriented energy strategies.