Inspiring Examples and Best Practices

About

Som Energia is a non-profit green energy consumer cooperative and the first energy to be established in Spain. The cooperative was founded in 2010 by 150 citizens. It started by purchasing local green energy from existing sources, so members could buy affordable electricity.

Mission

To promote a renewable and efficient energy model that remains in the hands of citizens while supporting the growth of a more social and supportive economy breaking the existing energy oligopoly and providing transparent access to information.

Activities

Their main activities are the marketing and production of renewable energy. With its local groups, the cooperative has built its own solar installations and renewable production projects aiming to produce enough electricity to meet 100% of the members’ consumption. Today, Som Energia has about 85.201 members and nearly 117.936 clients.

It offers services including the production of electricity from renewable sources (sun, wind, biogas, biomass, etc.) financed with voluntary financial contributions from partners, and
markets green electricity by managing, purchasing and invoicing the electricity consumed by its members (individuals and companies) who have chosen to contract the cooperative as a green electricity marketer.

This allows their clients to use affordable electricity in their homes – while playing a part in transforming Spain into a sustainable and environmentally friendly place to live.

Distinctive Good Practice

Som Energia is using interactive invoicing called ‘InfoEnergia’ to inform its members about their energy consumption. Instead of just sending invoices they also send reports on the energy use of their customers where they are compared with previous periods and get personalized energy-saving tips helping the cooperative’s members reduce their average energy consumption.

Barriers & How they were addressed

After the Spanish government stopped providing financial support, Som Energia came up with an innovative new financing system called Generation kWh, to set up new projects against market price offering a way for citizens to produce part of their energy collectively when they do not have the possibility of having an individual or collective installation nearby. Most citizens can’t afford to build wind, hydro or solar projects alone, but Som Energia offered the possibility to work together to support renewable energy from regional sources.

Benefits to Participating individuals

Som Energia offers the opportunity for thousands of people who support the idea of powering their homes with locally generated, clean, sustainable electricity the chance to come together to make the concept a reality.

Media:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4McesjuhS00&ab_channel=SomEnergia