Energy App Empowers Neighbours as Local Clean Energy Influencers

A school in Madrid now operates with solar panels on its roof, thanks to investments from local residents. Contributions started as low as €20, and together they amassed nearly €150,000.

The crowdfunding initiative for the Palomeras school was part of AURORA, an EU-backed project using a smartphone app to help citizens monitor their energy consumption and invest in local clean energy endeavors.

Since December 2021, thousands in Denmark, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK have downloaded the AURORA Energy Tracker app. It offers practical methods to reduce personal carbon footprints, like joining community solar panel schemes.

“We are giving power to the people,” said Ana Cristobal, a professor at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, who led the project.

Turning everyday choices into climate action

As part of its European Green Deal, the EU aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, with a 90% reduction target by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2050.

Studies, including those by UN climate experts, indicate that individual actions, supported by policy and technology, could cut global emissions by 40 to 70% by 2050. However, progress is uneven, and there’s resistance to perceived constant lecturing.

“Some people feel politicians are always telling them how to behave, and that can turn them against taking action,” Cristobal said, noting the practical challenge that many people lack the flexibility to follow well-meaning advice.

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We need people to participate in the energy transition.

Cristobal commutes ten minutes by car to work. Public transport would take over an hour.

“I have three kids and my life is very complicated, I cannot afford to spend that long on public transport,” she explained. “But I might compensate for this behaviour by doing something else positive.”

The app facilitates this compensation. Users input their electricity, heating, and transport habits and receive an energy label, along with tailored suggestions for emission reductions adapted to their country.

Ambassadors for citizen energy

“This is a way to support ordinary people in reducing their carbon footprint,” said Martin Brocklehurst, a consultant and chair of the Citizen Science Global Partnership, a Vienna-based network connecting citizen science organizations with UN agencies.

Brocklehurst, an AURORA Citizen Science Ambassador, promoted the app, explained its functionality, and encouraged students, residents, and municipalities across the EU and the UK to participate in community energy schemes. The aim is to transform a technical project into a citizen movement.

Unlike many similar apps, AURORA gives an accurate depiction of personal carbon footprints. Brocklehurst tested it himself. After two years of tracking his emissions, he achieved net-zero for his home energy use and travel—excluding international flights.

“It made me ask questions like: do I really need to fly so much? Could more meetings be online?” he said, adding there are ways to cut emissions that can also earn people money.

Solar power, local money

At the Palomeras school, photovoltaic panels now generate on-site electricity, and heat pumps have replaced a less efficient cooling system. This is crucial in Madrid, where climate change is causing more frequent and intense heatwaves.

Over 170 people from the Vallecas neighborhood, a traditionally working-class area in southeast Madrid, invested in the project. After four months of crowdfunding, nearly €150,000 was raised in collaboration with Ecooo, a local solar energy cooperative.

Brocklehurst recalled Sarah Alcantarilla Moreno, head of studies at Palomeras school, saying during an online energy event: “We never thought we could get that amount of money from a working-class area of Madrid.”

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