Second Stakeholder Meeting in Bulgaria of the EAGER project
On the 14th of November 2024, the second stakeholder meeting in the frame of the EAGER project: “Easing AGrophotovoltaics for EuRope”, co-funded by the Interreg Europe Programme 2021-2027, took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was organized under the XVIIIth Conference of the Association of Bulgarian Energy Agencies – ABEA. Leading energy agencies from Bulgaria, municipal administrations, NGOs as well as other stakeholders took part in this event. Experts from the Regional Energy Agency of Pazardzhik (REAP), a partner of the EAGER project, also attended the event, where the main focus was on training for the transition to clean energy and renewable energy sources. It was a hybrid event, allowing more people to be involved in both ways – in person and online.
During the conference, a panel session on the topic “Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources” was carried out. Participating in this session, the team of REAP presented the EAGER Project: “Agro photovoltaics as an opportunity for sustainable agriculture and renewable energy production” to all attending representatives – these were mainly local and regional administrations from Bulgaria, energy and environmental agencies, SMEs association, and Strelcha Municipality. The project’s main objectives and the upcoming activities were presented and what the agro-photovoltaic (APV) system means was clarified. The REAP experts explained that the main goal of the EAGER project is to facilitate the adoption of agro-photovoltaic systems across partner regions by fostering a shared understanding of this technology, identifying best practices, and enhancing policy instruments, this project will pave the way for a greener future. Then some good practices identified during the first stage of the project were presented.
A public debate followed the EAGER presentation on the topic of “How local and regional legislation can be changed in order to foster the larger deployment of agro-photovoltaic concept in rural areas with a well-developed agricultural sector”. Participants of the event got informed on the topic, and they were inspired by the examples of double production of agriculture and energy from solar panels that were showcased by the representatives from REAP, as some good examples have been mentioned by them (small-scale projects in Bulgarian rural regions) during the round-table discussion.
The afternoon session also included a workshop on engaging citizens in the energy transition through energy communities and integrated service centers.
The event concluded with a discussion and review of future initiatives for sustainable development in the energy sector.