He explains that the members of the Cooperative are still learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAcross Europe there are cooperatives supplying electricity to more than 60,000 people, heating or cooling entire neighbourhoods, and it is not limited to solar power and heating or cooling. Cooperatives also renovate houses and buildings for their members to improve energy efficiency, while addressing transport, storage and sustainable circular solutions to many of the challenges we face,\u201d<\/em> Bili\u0107 says. He emphasises that non-governmental organisations, women\u2019s associations and informal citizens\u2019 groups can also establish cooperatives and become members of REScoop with relatively little effort and a willingness to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The REScoop.eu network is a growing federation of 2,500 energy communities across Europe, bringing together more than two million citizens who are actively involved in the energy transition. The network operates according to seven cooperative principles defined by the International Cooperative Alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Energy cooperatives are officially recognised under the European Union\u2019s Clean Energy Package as \u201ccitizen\u201d and \u201crenewable\u201d energy communities. This is a business model in which citizens jointly own and democratically manage renewable energy or energy efficiency projects. REScoop.eu is also involved in numerous projects financed through European Union funds, covering a wide range of themes aimed at finding solutions for the energy transition towards energy democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the time being, the founders of Sinergija Plus are promoting this idea in the community where they intend to build their own energy community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElectricity sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet been clearly regulated. We face problems caused by differing interpretations of legislation at different levels of government \u2013 a real patchwork of inconsistencies. Our aim, however, is to move forward gradually and offer people an alternative. We are bringing together households with flat-roofed houses where systems of up to 5 kW can be installed, and we plan to provide small batteries so that residents can immediately experience the benefits,\u201d<\/em> Bili\u0107 explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He adds that the Cooperative\u2019s core idea is that energy should not remain exclusively in the hands of large systems and monopolies, and that the added value created should not leave local communities and disappear into unknown pockets. Instead, the benefits of energy production should remain within the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen schools, municipalities, citizens and local businesses participate together, energy becomes a tool for a safer, fairer and more resilient future. Energy does not divide \u2013 it brings people together and offers opportunities to communities and individuals who have long been overlooked,\u201d<\/em> says Bili\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are still relatively few energy communities across the Western Balkans. Croatia has the largest number, while Serbia and Montenegro have only a handful. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, alongside Sinergija Plus, two additional initiatives are currently being developed with the support of experts from ReSET. At the same time, the German development agency GIZ is working with local authorities, municipalities and cities to establish dozens more energy communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n REScoop.eu is also involved in numerous projects financed through European Union funds, covering a wide range of themes aimed at finding solutions for the energy transition towards energy democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a federation, REScoop has four clearly defined objectives: to represent the voice of citizens and energy communities before European decision-makers; to support new and existing energy communities through tools, knowledge and contacts that help them grow and develop; to facilitate international cooperation and the exchange of experience among energy communities; and to promote the cooperative business model in the energy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n REScoop.eu was established in 2013 as a Belgian non-profit association, but it operates according to cooperative principles. It is a member of Cooperatives Europe, the European branch of the International Cooperative Alliance, which represents more than 160,000 cooperative enterprises and 123 million members across Europe. REScoop.eu is also one of the co-founders of the European cooperatives REScoop MECISE and The Mobility Factory, through which it provides financing services and electric vehicle sharing solutions. It also collaborates with other European organisations through the Community Power Coalition network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The General Agricultural Cooperative Sinergija Plus from Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a member of the REScoop.eu network. Their idea is for an energy community in the Pazari\u0107 settlement near Sarajevo to provide electricity for at least five socially vulnerable households, two small or medium-sized enterprises, and the Cooperative\u2019s agrivoltaic facility. However, their ambition is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3176030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":[],"area-of-cooperation":[],"country":[],"featured-post":[],"class_list":["post-3176028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webalkans.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Sinergija-Plus-6-1024x768.jpg\")
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