ERAES R2B revitalizes rural areas by creating autonomous and sustainable spaces, improving energy efficiency, and promoting local economic development.

Advanced methodology for defining the complete preliminary design of ERAES ready to business and demonstrative project.

¿What is ERAES R2B?

The “ERAES R2B” project arises as a natural continuation of the projects Methodology and pilot experience for the development of Autonomous Rural Spaces for Sustainable Energy, co-financed by the Directorate-General for Economic Policy and Competitiveness of the Junta de Castilla y León under file number AEI/20/18 (hereinafter “ERAES I”). This project was implemented as part of the work plan of AEICE’s GT REAGEN working group, where territory development based on local resources is one of its key strategic lines, aiming to convert conventional rural areas into ERAES.

Both projects, “ERAES I” and “ERAES R2B”, are part of a broader and longer-term framework within the GT REAGEN working group. Since 2019, the strategic goal of this group has been to promote rural spaces that achieve sustainable development in social, cultural, economic, and environmental aspects as a tool to combat depopulation and aging populations.

Results Achieved in the ERAES I Project

To provide a foundation for understanding the ERAES R2B project, the results of the first project “ERAES I“ are summarized as follows:

• Development of a methodology for identifying, selecting, and prioritizing rural areas with sustainable endogenous development potential.
• Creation of an initial inventory of five rural spaces with high development potential.
• Pilot experience in the area with the highest potential for endogenous development (the influence zone of the Villafría dam in the Santibáñez de la Peña area – Palencia).
• Compilation of improvement actions to leverage endogenous resources in the pilot space.
  • Description of actions for implementing renewable energy.
  • Description of actions to utilize cultural and natural heritage resources.
  • Establishment of a citizen support office for energy rehabilitation.

These results, coupled with the high replicability of the proposed actions in other rural areas of Castilla y León, demonstrated significant acceptance. However, the conceptual dimension of these actions applies generically to many rural areas.

Objectives of ERAES R2B:

The ERAES R2B project aims to take a further step in the creation of an ERAES by detailing all the steps necessary to implement the actions required to establish an ERAES in the Santibáñez de la Peña area (Palencia).

The goal is to achieve a fully defined scenario applied to the selected rural area, then develop replication methodologies and tools for similar spaces, starting with a real case.

The definition will extend to the creation of an ERAES, with only aspects such as seeking investors for project execution or the legal processing of the entity’s formation left outstanding.

Specific Objectives of ERAES R2B:

• Promotion of sustainability and autonomy in energy supply.
• Enhancement of the use of endogenous resources.
• Establishment of a citizen support office as a facilitator of sustainability.
• Creation of a shared local identity encompassing all actions and goals of an ERAES under a legal entity.

Duration of the ERAES R2B Proyect:

February 2021 – Octuber 2021

Regional Project in Collaboration With:

Funded by:

Contact Person:

David Gonzalez: david.gonzalez@itcl.es – R&D Project Technician