Communities across Europe are pushing forward energy transition to forge a more sustainable future. This makes it critically important to learn from each others' experiences and apply the recommendations that arise from these various transition efforts. Two succinct and visual publications enable just that.

A team of researchers recently analysed efforts to use social innovations to push forth energy transition in six different countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Their findings – gathered through a remarkable 171 in-depth interviews, participant observation in 37 events, and analysis of 298 documents – have been translated into a succinct 'Energy Read' and an infographic, ensuring that learnings are widely accessible.

The Energy Read, which condenses 2000 pages of research into a visual and readable 14-page publication, analyses six different fields of social innovations in energy, proposing key insights into each field along with recommendations for social innovators, municipalities, and for national and EU policy makers.

Read the document to gain insights into the fields of: city-level competitions; cooperative energy production and consumption; innovative financing and subsidies for renewable energy; framings against fossil fuel energy pathways; local electricity exchanges; and participatory incubation and experimentation.

Curious about this extensive research process? The new infographic sheds light on the research process that led to these practical and useable insights.

This work has been conducted in the context of the SONNET project, in which ICLEI Europe is a partner.

Make use of these outputs to learn from peers! Download the Energy Read here, browse the infographic here, and access all SONNET publications (including the first SONNET Energy Read) at: sonnet-energy.eu/project-outputs.