The Fifth Navarra Energy Communities Meeting brings together in Etxauri more than 60 participants to share projects, learn about funding opportunities, and expand citizen participation.
Energy communities enable citizens to participate directly in the generation of their own energy, but sustaining them requires financing, collaboration, and engaged neighbors. These challenges were the focus of the Fifth Navarra Energy Communities Meeting, held this weekend in Etxauri with more than 60 participants, including representatives of local initiatives, institutions, and the OTC Navarra-Nasuvinsa team.
During the day, the Councillor Mikel Irujo defended a renewable deployment that takes into account social acceptance and the impact of each project. The meeting brought closer the funding opportunities and shared experiences of social inclusion, rural mobility, and energy sales, with the aim of providing tools to foster new initiatives and consolidate those already in place.
Citizen participation occupied a dedicated session to identify how to involve more people and strengthen their link with the projects. Etxaurindarra, the local energy community founded in 2023, also showcased its work in the management and maintenance of the trees: an initiative that links neighborhood organization with the care of the surroundings.
Energy Communities
Etxauri hosted this weekend the Fifth Navarra Energy Communities Meeting, a day devoted to exchanging knowledge and experiences among the initiatives working to promote a more sustainable, participatory, and inclusive energy model.
The gathering brought together more than 60 people, including representatives of Navarra’s energy communities, institutions, and the OTC Navarra-Nasuvinsa team. Throughout the day, ongoing projects were presented, development opportunities were analyzed, and new ways of involving citizens in these collective initiatives were explored.
In the opening ceremony, the Industry and Ecological, Digital, and Business Transition Councillor, Mikel Irujo, emphasized that the energy transition requires producing more renewable energy, but also doing so responsibly, bearing in mind social acceptance and the impact of each project.
Moreover, the councillor underscored the fundamental role of the energy communities in this process, noting that they are a key piece of the energy transition because they place citizens at the center and allow people to participate directly in generating their own energy.
At the meeting, the Mayor of Etxauri, Idoia Aritzala, thanked Nasuvinsa and all those involved in the project for their commitment and work, highlighting collaboration and citizen participation as essential elements to move towards a more sustainable energy model.
She also highlighted the work of the energy community Etxaurindarra since its founding in 2023 and the projects it is carrying out to drive the energy transition in the valley.
The event also presented the available aids for Navarra’s energy communities, with calls for funding from the Navarra Government’s Energy Transition Service, as well as other aids related to citizen participation and environmental education, state and European programs, and private entities’ initiatives.
The aim was to provide practical information on the various financing options available to promote new projects and sustain existing initiatives.
Subsequently, several inspiring experiences were shared, illustrating the potential of energy communities to promote initiatives with social, economic, and environmental impact. Among them were Yenxa’s sustainable soap circular economy project; the Torreblanca Ilumina initiative focused on social inclusion; Landago, which promotes sustainable and connected mobility in rural areas; and Lucoenergía, with its experience in selling energy in rural energy communities.
These initiatives have shown different ways to generate social, environmental, and economic value from the local level, underscoring the potential of energy communities to meet the needs of their territories.
Afterwards, attendees participated in a group activity aimed at identifying strategies to encourage citizen involvement and help everyone feel an active part of these projects. The session focused on the importance of collaboration, participation, and the creation of bonds to safeguard the continuity and development of energy communities.
As a closing of the meeting, a visit was made to the arboreal management and maintenance work in Etxauri, led by the Etxaurindarra energy community. The visit offered insight into this initiative driven by the community itself, linking collective action with the care and conservation of the surroundings.
This gathering of energy communities is consolidating itself as a space to share experiences, exchange knowledge, and strengthen collaboration networks among initiatives. An opportunity to continue driving more sustainable, participatory, and inclusive energy models, and to move forward together toward an energy transition that places people at the center.
The rural reach of this model has a concrete precedent: in the fifth national call of CE Implementa, resolved in October 2025, 55 of the 106 beneficiary energy communities operated in municipalities facing demographic challenges. That allocation directed 10.7 million euros to projects that included renewable generation, storage, and sustainable mobility. More than half of the selected communities were, therefore, located in areas where energy sharing can also help sustain services and economic activity.
