Objectives

CLEAR 2.0’s objective was to lower market barriers to the purchase of RES, hence raising consumers capacity to take informed decisions. The result had been a significant uptake in the purchase of renewable energy solutions (RES) by European consumers and therefore an important contribution to the 2020 European targets: 

The key steps that were implemented and achieved are the following:

- Integrating existing renewable energy web communities in Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Italy in consumer organisations’website to have an even large outreach. The communities provide innovative ways to share experiences and know-how, exchange best practices, watch how-to videos and review systems and local installers.

- ‘hooking’ consumers with independent and expert information gained out of laboratory tests on micro-generation technologies. Test results were translated into articles will provide the consumer with relevant RE information and were widely circulated through consumer magazines and websites and spread via national media;

- raising the consumer capacity to take informed decision with personalised decision-making tools. These range from an interactive tool enabling consumers to find out which technologies are suitable for their needs and property, to investment tools enabling householders to find out how long it might take for a system to pay for itself and how much money and energy they could save;

- gaining attention and getting consumers involved in the CLEAR renewable energy web community, through existing well-established communication channels. Consumer organisations’ magazines are statistically read by three to four persons per household, ensuring an outreach of more than five million people in Europe. Furthermore, CLEAR leverages on the consumer organisations’ brand trust for a further multiplication of RE messages via the national media and word of mouth;

- activating consumers to purchase RE technologies through incentives that bring down cost like group purchase schemes.

- Working on the future energy transitions and foreseen trends, via monitoring of existing families, and optimizing self-consumptions (batteries, electric cars, optimizers etc…);

- Support consumers in reducing and optimizing consumptions;

- Supporting the development at European and National level of fair legislation for all consumers.