In the Energy Community, a Centre for Renewables Acceleration will fast-track decarbonisation 

New Centre will help support the roll out of renewable acceleration areas, advancing renewable energy development while ensuring that environmental protection remains central to the transition

The Energy Community Secretariat has launched a new Centre for Renewables Acceleration, a regional hub designed to provide technical support to all Energy Community Contracting Parties in accelerating renewable energy deployment through improved planning and coordination. 

The centre will especially help support the rollout of Renewables Acceleration Areas in brownfields, including coal mines, where renewable energy projects can move forward more quickly through streamlined procedures grounded in strategic spatial planning that protects sensitive ecosystems. Strengthening public trust in the energy transition is key to this mission, particularly in regions affected by coal phase-out and undergoing broader structural changes.  

In the Western Balkans, the centre will be supported through a partnership with the Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans (OSF-WB). The two organisations recently formalised cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding. Together, they will support their joint mission in the region through pilot interventions in Contracting Parties, expert exchanges, capacity-building initiatives and regional workshops. 

The partnership with OSF–WB builds on the Energy Community Secretariat’s ongoing work in Ukraine, supported by the European Climate Foundation, which focuses on developing cross-border Renewables Acceleration Areas in five regions bordering the EU and Moldova, while supporting national efforts to enable faster renewable energy deployment.

This work is further complemented by the Secretariat’s cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, whose EU-recognised methodology for designating Renewables Acceleration Areas informed the development of the Operational Blueprint for the Designation of RAAs in the Energy Community region and now serves as a best practice.