The 5th stakeholder meeting held in Tampere Region (Finland)

The hybrid meeting was arranged on the 10th of October 2024 and hosted at the Pellava Conference Centre, managed by the Council of Tampere Region. Present were representatives from the Finnish Real Estate Management Federation, Leppäkoski, Elenia, Tampere University, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and the REC4EU project staff from the Council of Tampere Region.

The stakeholder group was presented with findings from the project meeting held in Tampere in May 2024, especially the workshop exercise on the REC Engagement Path.

The group discussed how relevant stakeholders and target audiences could be reached and engaged, how the benefits of RECs should be communicated, and what opposing arguments one might expect.

The group raised important points, including:

• the definition of RECs, their benefits, and what currently is possible within the Finnish legislative framework are not clear, especially for the larger audiences
• the financial uncertainty, the diminished national subsidies, and an increased turnover of management staff in housing companies makes it more difficult to establish RECs
• a need to address the question of safety around solar panel systems, which enjoyed a somewhat uncontrolled surge of popularity during the energy crisis, and the recently trending electricity storage system installations
• the effects of EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) on renewable energy production requirements, and how they could be met with the help of RECs
• the social and financial advantages, and the benefits for the whole energy system, especially in rural areas, should be communicated and wholly utilised by relevant actors

These discussions will continue in the next stakeholder meeting in April 2025, with additional insights gained in Slovakia.