COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Northern Periphery and Arctic

Date of latest update: 2025-09-24

Description

Description (EN):

The aim is to develop a community-based Virtual Power Plant (cVPP) and a business model to support it in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Faroe Islands. The project addresses the lack of affordable, reliable, and efficient energy supply due to peripherality, low population density, cold climate, accessibility issues and over-reliance on fossil fuel. There is a significant renewable resource potential in partner areas and new possibilities in future dynamic energy markets. Information technologies will link small energy systems and operate them in coordination like a utility-scale power station to balance electricity demand and production. This will change community roles in the energy system, decrease local consumption of fossil-based energy, energy independence, local energy trade and reduce electricity bills. This creates new community-driven opportunities to digitalise, decarbonise and decentralise local energy systems.

Actual Achievements (EN):

During the first reporting period, we launched the project, set up all the management and communication structures, and supported activities to ensure successful implementation and monitoring of the plane project actions. The partnership has also worked together on the capacity-building phase of WP1 within the first period. This work focused on investigating and defining tools and technologies, identifying local DERs, and organising a demo of a cVPP design during a working group meeting. The work completed by the consortium during this first period sets the foundations to achieve the deliverables in the next periods and prepare for the pilot actions in year 2. In the second reporting period the COPOWER partnership has worked together on deliverables D1.4.1 ‘report scale of local energy generation, demand response and DER’, D1.4.2 ‘map community owned DERs’, D1.5.1 ‘report on technology, tools, data, and security’, D.1.5.2 ‘assessment of technology solutions to confirm viability for the cVPP model’ and D1.8.1 ‘cVPP model’. The work carried out to date has equipped the partners with the knowledge and vision for implementing their pilots in the coming period. The partnership attended monthly online project management meetings which were coordinated by ERNACT, they were held on the last Friday of each month. This meeting was utilised for the LP to address project management tasks as well as provide a communications update. For this reporting period, PP2 Centria (WP1 coordinator) organised regular working group meetings for the pilot partners. These meetings contributed to the successful delivery of the activities due in this period. Regarding physical events, the COPOWER partnership attended the 2nd partner meeting and thematic seminar 12th & 13th December 2023 in Kokkola, Finland, hosted by Centria University of Applied Sciences (PP2). At this event, partners participated in a thematic seminar workshop which focused on raising awareness among young people and investigating how they can lead the energy revolution. This seminar was videoed and promoted via COPOWER socials to enable promotion and engagement with a wider audience. The COPOWER partners participated in this video and recorded interviews with an update of the projects progress. Communication activities for reporting period 2 were successfully achieved. The COPOWER project website was launched, this has been disseminated with our stakeholders and target groups. The project newsletter was submitted and disseminated on the 16th of January 2024; the 2nd project press release was achieved on the 7th of January 2024; 2 media appearances with local radio station in co. Donegal, Ireland on the 8th of January 2024. The COPOWER partnership also completed the Horizontal Principals step 1 form & together agreed on HPs for step 2 'follow your HP best practices' which will be implemented throughout the lifetime of the COPOWER project. In reporting period 3, the COPOWER project has successfully completed the following deliverables (see below). This period marked the beginning on WP2, with pilot partners focusing on and working towards their pilot plans. 2.1.1 ‘Report from 3rd thematic seminar’ 2.1.2 ‘Video of the 3rd thematic seminar’ 2.2.1 ‘2nd Enewsletter’ 2.3.1 ‘Joint transnational methodology’ The work carried out to date has equipped the partners for period 4 where pilot action plans will be developed in each partner region. In preparation for this, LP1 has assisted partners with their queries around budgets, cost categories, and advised to follow national procurement rules, as well as staying aligned with their controller. Pilot partners have been preparing their tenders for VPP solutions. Regarding virtual events, the partnership attended monthly online project management meetings which were coordinated by LP1, they were held on the last Friday of each month. This meeting was utilised for the LP to address project management tasks as well as provide a communications update. For PR.3, PP3 University of Oulu (WP2 coordinator) organised regular working group meetings for the pilot partners. These meetings contributed to the successful delivery of the deliverables due in this period, as well as focusing in-depth on the partners pilot plans. In regards to physical events, the COPOWER partnership attended the 3rd partner meeting and thematic seminar, 11th and 12th June 2024, hosted by PP4 University of Iceland. All partners participated in the thematic seminar workshop which disseminated the community-based virtual power plant concept to the key project beneficiaries and end-users. The seminar began with presentations by subject matter experts, followed by detailed insights from master students at the University of Iceland and a session led by the host, Rúnar Unnþórsson. This seminar was videoed and promoted via COPOWER socials to enable promotion and engagement with a wider audience. The COPOWER partners participated in this video and recorded interviews with an update of the projects progress. Regarding communication activities in period 3, the dissemination of the project has continued through X and LinkedIn channels and the COPOWER website. ERNACT, along with the input of the whole partnership, has published 6 news items and 1 event on the project website. These updates highlighted various activities and events that partners participated in, helping to raise awareness about the project. Highlights included information on what a cVPP is, details of the partner meeting and awareness-raising seminar held in Reykjavik (IS) in June 2024, an initiative to build a hydrogen pipeline in Finland, and an announcement about the next partner meeting and seminar in Oulu (FI). In addition, the second newsletter was sent on the 2nd of September to inform stakeholders about the projects progress. A social media campaign was also carried out to disseminate conclusions on energy generation and demand differences in Northern Europe (reports from the previous period), supported by infographics. Another communication activity during this period was the creation of a second animation explaining the concept of a cVPP. 

Project outputs: Community-based Virtual Power Plant model(EN)
Transnational cooperation(EN)
Distributed energy resource pilot actions(EN)
Energy solution using solar and agricultural side streams(EN)
Energy solution integrating solar, wind, and battery storage with grid connection(EN)
Energy solution integrating district heating, solar, and biogas(EN)
Energy solution optimising energy demand in public buildings(EN)
Energy solution integrating ground heat, wind and water storage(EN)
Online cVPP demonstration service(EN)
Website: https://www.interreg-npa.eu/projects/copower/home/

Thematic information

Energy efficiency Knowledge and technology transfer

Priority: (VI-B_NPaA_2) Strengthening the capacity for climate change adaptation, and resource sufficiency in NPA communities

Priority specific objective: RSO2.1. Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO2 A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management, and sustainable urban mobility

Type of intervention: 053 Smart Energy Systems (including smart grids and ICT systems) and related storage

Partners (6)

Lead Partner: European Regions Network for the Application of Communications Technology

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 964478470

Partner’s ID if not PIC: IE6544273A

Department: Energy

Address: CoLab @ ATU Letterkenny, F92 HTW7 Letterkenny, Ireland

Department address: Colab @ ATU Letterkenny, F92 HTW7 Letterkenny, Ireland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: International organisation, EEIG

Website: http://www.ernact.eu

Total budget: EUR 293 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 190 450.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 102 550.00

Spf Nólsoyar Orkufelag

Name: Spf Nólsoyar Orkufelag

Department: Energy development

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 589659

Address: Á Ryggi, FO-270 Nólsoy, Faroe Islands

Department address: Á Ryggi, FO-270 Nólsoy, Faroe Islands

Legal status: private

Organisation type: SME

Total budget: EUR 222 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 144 300.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 77 700.00

GBER schemes / de minimis: GBER Article 20

Donegal County Council

Name: Donegal County Council

Department: Information Systems

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 950634630

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 8F28103W

Address: The Diamond, F93 Y622 Lifford, Ireland

Department address: The Diamond, F93 Y622 Lifford, Ireland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: http://www.donegalcoco.ie

Total budget: EUR 223 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 144 950.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 78 050.00

Háskóli Íslands

Name: Háskóli Íslands

Department: Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 999884246

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 19133

Address: Sæmundargata, IS102 Reykjavik, Iceland

Department address: Dunhagi , IS107 Reykjavik, Iceland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://www.hi.is

Total budget: EUR 199 735.40

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 129 828.01

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 69 907.39

University of Oulu

Name: University of Oulu

Department: Kerttu Saalasti Institute - Future Manufacturing Technologies

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 999844670

Partner’s ID if not PIC: FI02458955

Address: Pentti Kaiteran katu (PL 8000), FI-90014 Oulu, Finland

Department address: Pentti Kaiteran katu (PL 8000), FI-90014 Oulu, Finland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://www.oulu.fi/fmt

Total budget: EUR 262 800.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 170 820.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 91 980.00

Centria-ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Name: Centria-ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Department: Reseach and Development: Chemistry and Bioeconomy

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 997172708

Partner’s ID if not PIC: FI10978053

Address: Talonpojankatu, 67100 Kokkola, Finland

Department address: Talonpojankatu, FIN-67100 Kokkola, Finland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://www.centria.fi

Total budget: EUR 298 400.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 193 960.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 104 440.00

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Nolsoy Energy Ltd

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Partners and Projects info

Donegal County Council

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Partners and Projects info

University of Iceland

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Partners and Projects info

University of Oulu

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Partners and Projects info

Centria University of Applied Sciences

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Partners and Projects info

European Regions Network for the Application of Communications Technology

COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Project acronym: COPOWER

Project ID: NPA0300090

Project start date: 2023-06-01

Project end date: 2026-05-31

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

GREENER (Clustering remote regions for energy resilience and growth): an Interreg NPA clustering project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | GREENER was based on 3 NPA projects (SMARCTIC, LECo & h-CHP), with the 3 Lead Partners participating (ERNACT, Centria & OU), and 18 project partners as Associate Partners. GREENER established a critical mass of energy efficient and renewable solutions from the 3 projects. The partners used their collective capacity to increase awareness, transfer knowledge, and improve uptake of solutions across the wider NPA. The 3 Lead Partners collectively developed the basis for the COPOWER project idea. (EN), SMARCTIC (Smart energy management in remote Northern Periphery and Arctic region): an Interreg NPA project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | The aim of SMARCTIC was to develop an ICT-based solution adapted from existing smart city models and use ICT technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things, to enable communication between energy stakeholders to build awareness, trial new solutions and change energy behaviour. The ICT knowledge developed in this project will be used in the COPOWER project. (EN), h-CHP (Micro combined heat and power system for households): an Interreg NPA project led by Partner 3 (OU) (EN) | h-CHP developed Combined Heat and Power systems (CHP) using solid renewable biomass and gasification for remote households. The project implemented a household scale CHP unit using wood and produced 20kW of heat and electricity with a wood pellet gasification plant. Biochar from pyrolysis process was re-used as a soil improver to ensure a carbon negative process. h-CHP offers COPOWER alternative ways to produce energy from solid renewable biomass and provides flexible energy production methods.
(EN), LECo (Local Energy Communities): an Interreg NPA Project led by Partner 2 (Centria) (EN) | LECo responded to the needs of remote communities for a sustainable energy supply. The project improved building stock standards by combining new innovative technologies with locally available natural RE resources for energy supply. The approach was based on the local cycle economy model re-used household waste from agriculture and industries as sources of energy. The community-based approach and RE energy competence built up by LECo will be used in the COPOWER project. (EN), ARCTIC PACER (Arctic Public Services Innovation Cluster): an Interreg NPA clustering project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | The ARCTIC PACER project created links between 30 partners from 20 regions and 7 countries that faced a challenge of providing better public services in the Arctic. The project clustered 5 international projects approved by Botnia Atlantica, Interreg Nord and the NPA to explore innovative solutions for participative user-centred, quality and sustainable digital public services in Arctic regions. The inventory of energy solutions collated in ARCTIC PACER will be shared with the COPOWER partners. (EN), EMERGREEN (Emerging technologies for greener communities): an Interreg NPA project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | The EMERGREEN project used digital technologies and user participative development models to develop greener and sustainable communities. The project found that approaches where the community participates in the co-production process are more effective for delivering public services that respond to real demands. The user-participative and community co-production knowledge developed in EMERGREEN forms a good basis for COPOWER to build on. (EN), ARCTIC CLUSTER (Arctic Collaboration to Support more Efficient Dissemination of Arctic): an Interreg NPA clustering project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | The Arctic Cluster project brought together 3 projects (SECURE, EEBAK & GrAB) that were co-funded by 3 different Arctic Cooperation programmes, involving 15 regions from Europe, Canada and Russia to address similar challenges on energy efficiency and renewable solutions for buildings. The partners cooperated to promote a collective inventory of energy solutions to maximise the value of the funding received. The energy solutions collated in ARCTIC CLUSTER will be shared with the COPOWER partners. (EN), CLEAN (Technologies and open innovation for low-carbon regions): an INTERREG Europe project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | CLEAN increased energy efficiency in housing and public infrastructure by 4% through improved policy measures addressing energy efficiency in 9 regions. The result was greater focus in policy instruments on stimulating engagement between public authorities and citizens who own properties, and research centres and companies who could introduce new innovative energy efficiency solutions. The knowledge gained in stimulating engagement with citizens and companies will form a good basis to build on. (EN), SECURE (Smarter Energy Communities in Northern & Arctic Regions): an Interreg NPA project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | SECURE transferred innovative energy solutions between higher and lower maturity regions for housing and public infrastructure across 7 NPA regions. The main outputs were 5 Smarter Energy Communities, 31 energy solutions applied which retrofitted 38 houses, energy efficiency increased by at least 5% in 22 public buildings, and alternative energy sources installed in 10 public infrastructures. COPOWER will build on some of the RE solutions developed in SECURE and apply them to the cVPP. (EN), CO2FREE (Cooperating to Foster Renewables and Energy Efficiency): an INTERREG IVC project led by LP1 (ERNACT) (EN) | The aim of CO2FREE was to equip Europe's regional and local authorities with solutions to address energy efficiency and sustainable transport challenges in order to address the problem of climate change and the dependency on fossil fuels. These issues were tackled through the exchange of good practices in renewable energy solutions and their transfer into Regional Operational Programmes. These Good Practices will be shared with the COPOWER partners. (EN), AFarCloud (Aggregate Farming in the Cloud): a Horizon 2020 project (ECSEL JU) participated by Partner 2 (Centria) (EN) | AFarCloud provides a distributed platform for autonomous farming that enables the integration and cooperation of agriculture Cyber Physical Systems in real-time in order to increase efficiency, productivity, animal health, food quality and reduce farm labour costs. The knowledge gained by Centria (Partner 2) in distributed platform development will be used in COPOWER. (EN), e-GOTHAM: funded by European Commission (EC/ARTEMIS), participated by Partner 2 (Centria) (EN) | Recognising the need, within the energy industry, to optimise the integration of DER, storage components and new consumer energy needs, e-GOTHAM proposed a new open reference design and architecture and developed middleware with seamless connectivity to optimise and manage microgrids in the residential, services and industrial sectors. The knowledge gained of digital design architectures and system level integrations like monitoring and management of DER development will be used in COPOWER. (EN), Habitus (Decentralized Biogas Production and liquefaction in Finland): an ERDF project led by Partner 2 (Centria) (EN) | Habitus developed a biomethane liquefaction unit and carbon dioxide separation unit. Focus was on digestate processing and nutrient recovery with emphasis on process profitability at farm scale. A virtual energy cooperative was created in Central Ostrobothnia and the project developed an optimal operating model for decentralised farm size biogas production and biomethane liquefaction. The competence regarding farm scale RE production and community-based aspects will be brought to use in COPOWER. (EN), EVAKOT (Best practices and tools for energy storage and usage optimization): an ERDF project led by Partner 2 (Centria) (EN) | EVAKOT created an energy storage development and testing ecosystem and its optimization technologies in a real operating environment. The ecosystem produced novel methods and operating principles to increase of knowledge, enabling new products and services to be realised. Pilots studied the functioning of geo-accumulators as part of building energy optimization systems and tested optimization strategies for maximizing energy efficiency. The RE and ICT knowledge developed will be used in COPOWER. (EN), OCTES (Opportunities for Community groups Through Energy Storage): an NPP project participated by Partner 4 (HI) (EN) | OCTES increased the use of RE solutions in the NPA by influencing consumer behaviour. The project encouraged consumers to make choices of their own that resulted in more efficient use of RE resources in NPA households. A highly dynamic technique based on real-time modification of energy prices was developed with the objective of making storage a viable method to manage intermittency in generation. The knowledge gained modelling real-time energy balance in communities will be used in COPOWER.
(EN), SMARTrenew (Smarter renewable energy and heating Management for Arctic and northern Rural Territories): an NPA project participated by member of Partner 6 (EN) | SMARTrenew transferred renewable energy and smart storage solutions to dispersed NPA regions. A directory of services and technical know-how of renewable systems was developed to increase energy capacity, reduce energy poverty and over reliance on fossil fuels. The knowledge gained of increasing energy efficiency by implementing smart energy and heat storage management in residences and public buildings will be used in COPOWER (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 498 935.40

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 700 180.00

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 65.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 700 180.00. Co-financing rate, 65.00%.
ERDF equivalent: Amount, EUR 129 828.01. Co-financing rate, 65.00%. Sources, IS.
ERDF equivalent: Amount, EUR 144 300.00. Co-financing rate, 65.00%. Sources, FO.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

Communication strategy
Project page on partner websites and social media
Project branding
Official project website
Social media
eNewsletter template
1st press release
Project video archive
Report from 1st thematic seminar
Video of 1st thematic seminar
Stakeholder engagement strategy
Report scale of local energy generation, demand response and DER
Map community owned DERs
Report on technology, tools, data and security
Assessment of technology solutions to confirm viability for the cVPP model
Report from 2nd thematic seminar
Video of 2nd thematic seminar
1st eNewsletter
2nd press release
cVPP model
Report from 3rd thematic seminar
Video of 3rd thematic seminar
2nd eNewsletter
3rd press release
Joint transnational methodology
1 DER pilot action developed in each partner region (5 in total)
Re-use side streams from DER pilots
Report from 4th thematic seminar
Video of 4th thematic seminar
Test and monitoring report for distributed energy resource pilot solutions
CO2 (eq.) saving potential of DER pilots
3rd eNewsletter
4th press release
DER pilots assessment
cVPP roadmap
Report from 5th thematic seminar
Video of 5th thematic seminar
4th eNewsletter
5th Press Release
Mobilisation and replication roadmap
2 x capacity building sessions per region
cVPP online demonstration service
Report from final conference
Video of final conference
5th eNewsletter
6th press release

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EUStrategyBalticSeaRegion COPOWER contributes to the EUSBSR since it tackles climate change and decarbonisation by cooperating across countries within the region. We address 3 of the 4 priorities, in particular, priority 2 (Climate Neutral Societies) and its 'Energy Transition' sub-objective. COPOWER tackles decarbonisation of energy systems in the region to reduce GHG emissions. The solutions implemented will increase RE production from locally available resources and help with RE distribution and integration.
SeaBasinStrategyArcticOcean COPOWER contributes to EU Arctic Ocean policy by facilitating transnational cooperation to tackle climate change and to make the Arctic more energy resilient. The project fosters inclusive and sustainable development by involving local communities within Arctic regions in the co-design of the cVPP model and pilots with the aim to make the region better for its citizens and future generations. We also place focus on indigenous people, women and young people which are key groups in Arctic policy.
AtlanticStrategy COPOWER contributes to the Atlantic Strategy by focussing on climate change, reducing GHG emissions and developing RE. COPOWER can help boost job creation in coastal communities by cooperating and sharing knowledge across knowledge centres and businesses. It focusses on issues the Atlantic Strategy stresses that 'one single State cannot solve alone or where it is more efficient to act together and deliver on challenges that matter in the daily lives of people living in the coastal areas'.
EuropeanGreenDeal COPOWER contributes to the European Green Deal, which aims to set the EU on the path to green transition, with the goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. We take a holistic approach to achieving this goal, and particularly contribute to the 'Fit for 55' package and 'Just transition mechanism', by facilitating local communities make a just and socially fair transition to low-carbon technology by offering them an opportunity to manage their own energy supply/demand and fight energy poverty.
TerritorialAgenda2030 COPOWER contributes to the Territorial Agenda 2030 objectives of a 'Just Europe' and a 'Green Europe' which focus on decreasing inequalities between places and between people and reducing unsustainable developments. COPOWER will develop a cVPP model and pilot actions which will test and demonstrate the opportunities for communities to achieve a secure, affordable and sustainable energy supply, thus promoting a just transition for all citizens. This is key to Territorial Agenda priorities.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
RCO 087 - Organisations cooperating across borders, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
RCR 079 - Joint strategies and action plans taken up by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSBSR

EUSBSR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSBSR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Northern Periphery and Arctic

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2025-09-24

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

65 / 65 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

310 / 310 (100%)

Notes on the data

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COmmunity based virtual POWER plant

Description

Thematic information

Partners (6)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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