EnTRA Energy Transition Talks #1: Will energy communities provide affordable energy and save the world?
Monday, 7 September 2026, 14:00–15:00 CEST.
EnTRA Energy Transition Talks is a webinar series organised as part of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project EnTRA – Energy Transition for Climate Neutrality in the BSR. Through 10 webinars, expert presentations and discussions will focus on key topics supporting the acceleration of the energy transition across the region towards climate neutrality. Organised within the EnTRA Knowledge Community, the series brings together public authorities, researchers, businesses, NGOs and citizens. All webinars are held online in English via Webex or Zoom.
Despite over a decade of EU efforts to promote the widespread uptake of energy communities, Europe and the Baltic Sea Region still have relatively few that are fully operational – even though many exist on paper. Amid the current environmental and geopolitical context, setting up local energy communities has become increasingly important, offering a way to strengthen local and regional energy security across the BSR and Europe as a whole.
Experts agree that several barriers must be addressed before energy communities can become a widespread reality. In this webinar, we will discuss the opportunities available to people across the Baltic Sea Region who want to establish local energy communities. Experts who have successfully done so will join us to describe their experiences in moving from an idea to reality.
This session serves as a run-up event for the StartSun final conference, “From Concept to Community: Launching Solar Energy Communities,” taking place both online and offline on 22 and 23 September 2026. The conference will focus on practical experiences and easy-to-follow guidance for developing and setting up solar energy communities in different contexts.
Format:
Online presentation of the EnTRA project platform’s Knowledge Community and the StartSun project. Followed by a panel discussion on establishing local energy communities in the BSR, covering their benefits and highlighting good practices from successful, citizen-led examples already operating in the region.
Agenda:
1. Introducing the EnTRA webinar series, its Knowledge Community, and the StartSun project.
Speakers:
Elis Vollmer, Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN);
Oliwia Kaniak, European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (NOVUM).
2. PANEL DISCUSSION. Will energy communities provide cheap energy and save the world?
Moderator:
Kirils Gončarovs (Tartu Regional Energy Agency, EE);
Speakers:
Nele Ivask (Tartu Regional Energy Agency, EE);
Krista Pētersone (Society Green Liberty, LV);
Izabela Szostak-Smith (City Hall of Warsaw, PL).
3. QnA session with questions from the live chat.
4. Wrapping up.
Meet the speakers:
Elis Vollmer is a project manager at the Institute of Ecology, University of Tartu, and works as the head of the Centre of Renewable Energy at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU). She has MSc in environmental protection. She leads the UN SDG workgroup as part of the Green University initiative at EMU. In 2018-2019, she was Estonian representative in the International Energy Agency. She has extensive experience in leading renewable energy projects (both national and EU level), project coordination, trainings and communication. During the past twelve years, she has improved the cooperation network with local municipalities and policy makers in Estonia and CEE region. Currently she is the board member and president of the international Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN).
Kirils Gončarovs is an Expert at the Tartu Regional Energy Agency and a Doctoral Researcher at Uppsala University. Both his professional and academic work focuses on enabling equal opportunities of participation in energy communities through institutional cooperation. At the Tartu Regional Energy Agency, Kirils manages the Enercracy Baltic Sea Region project to provide municipalities with frameworks for upscaling energy communities and prosumerism.
Nele Ivask is an expert at the Tartu Regional Energy Agency who supports the development of citizen-led energy communities in Estonia. Drawing on practical experience from local energy community pilots, her work explores how shared energy projects can become a tool for stronger cooperation, greater local capacity and more self-reliant communities.
Krista Pētersone works on policy development, stakeholder engagement and public support measures for the formation of energy communities. She contributes to the StartSun project at Green Liberty, one of Latvia’s oldest and largest environmental organisations.
Izabela Szostak-Smith is the deputy Director at the City of Warsaw’s Infrastructure Department, responsible for strategy, sustainable development, and city engineering. Former Deputy Mayor of Warsaw’s Praga-Południe District, where she oversaw key portfolios including environmental protection and climate, architecture and construction, entrepreneurship, and public procurement. A qualified lawyer specialising in energy, projects, and construction law. She holds a Master of Laws and Administration (LL.M.) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). She is an alumna of the University of Warsaw, the University of East Anglia, the University of Cambridge, the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and the College of Law in London (LPC).