Climate ChangeInnovative Financial Models to Support the Transition to Renewable Energy Sources (North Macedonia)
Overview
Moving public buildings to renewable energy takes technology and money, and local governments in North Macedonia have few ways to finance the shift beyond their usual budgets. InnoFinRES (Innovative Financial Models to Support the Transition to Renewable Energy Sources) set out to change that by designing a financing model that communities and municipalities can use together.
The project took a three-part approach. First, it retrofitted a municipal kindergarten with a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) solar system, showing a more efficient technology for buildings that need both electricity and hot water. Second, it developed a community financing model, built around crowdfunding and fitted to the local financial system, that lets residents invest in and help lead the energy transition. Third, it explored an alternative investment mechanism that spreads the financial burden across several parties and makes clear who pays and who benefits.
SmartUp implemented the project between August and December 2022, in partnership with the Macedonian Solar Energy Association “Solar Macedonia”, the Municipality of Ilinden, KLIK – Križevci Laboratory of Innovation for Climate (Croatia), Korimako (Slovenia) and the Island Energy Council of Gran Canaria (Spain). KLIK shared its experience of running a community crowdfunding model, and the Municipality of Ilinden hosted the pilot.
The model was not designed behind closed doors. Local and international stakeholders co-created it over three workshops, and the process is documented in a handbook so that other municipalities can repeat it. Read how we created the community financial model.
The challenge
Stakeholder Engagement in Co-Creation: Engaging diverse stakeholders in a co-creation process to develop a financing model that met the needs and constraints of local governments and encouraged community involvement was essential for the model’s success.
Demonstrating the Viability of RES Technology: Installing hybrid PVT systems in a public setting required ensuring that the technology was effective, cost-efficient, and capable of demonstrating tangible energy savings to build stakeholder trust and interest.
Developing a Practical and Scalable Financing Model: The project aimed to create a community financing model that could be replicated across local governments, requiring a design that was both practical and adaptable to various municipal contexts.
Activities and methods
The project combined analysis, co-creation and a working demonstration, so that the financing model was tested against both local rules and a real installation.
What we did
- Analysed the local context. Economic and legal experts assessed what is possible under the local financial and legal framework, and several conceptual community financing models were drawn up, inspired by initiatives such as Križevci Sunny Roofs in Croatia.
- Co-created the model in three workshops. In the first, partners from KLIK shared their experience of running a community crowdfunding model and participants generated model ideas. In the second, groups built detailed models and simulated how effective each would be, folding in the legal and economic analysis to make them credible, transparent and secure for investors. In the third, groups tested the tools for building such models and proposed improvements.
- Installed a hybrid PVT system. The “Goce Delchev” kindergarten in the Municipality of Ilinden received a hybrid system with 2 kW electrical and 14 kW thermal capacity. Energy production and cost savings were monitored and analysed, confirming the technology’s feasibility and its benefit in cutting energy costs.
- Shared the knowledge. Knowledge-sharing events and continuous communication reached local and international stakeholders, and the “Handbook for Co-creating New Financing Models for Local Government” documents the process and gives guidelines for replication.
What it leaves behind
A tailored community financing instrument that local governments can use to fund renewable energy projects, a working pilot that shows the savings, and a handbook that gives other municipalities a framework for further renewable energy adoption.
Gallery
Outputs
How we created a community financial model
SmartUp’s account of the three co-creation workshops that produced the community crowdfunding model, and of the kindergarten pilot in Ilinden.
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