Residents of a Village Near Vranje Establish an Energy Cooperative for Joint Electricity Generation

Residents of the hamlet of Popovci in the village of Beli Breg near Vranje have established the Beli Breg Popovci Energy Cooperative. The cooperative was founded within the Beli Breg REC – Citizen Shared Energy project, implemented by the Platform for Energy Transition (PET) with the support of the European Union, the Emilia-Romagna Region, and ART-ER from Italy.

The founders are local residents who joined forces in order to produce and use energy from renewable sources jointly. The cooperative will begin by developing smaller solar power plants, while the benefits – savings, revenues, and future investments – will remain within the community.

– We did not establish any kind of company here. We reached an agreement as neighbors, just as we have always agreed on everything important. Only this time, the topic was electricity – the residents told us.

A New Model: Citizens as Producers, Not Just Consumers

An energy cooperative represents a new way of organizing around energy. Unlike the traditional model in which citizens simply pay a bill to the distributor, the cooperative turns them into active participants – they jointly decide what is built, how it is used, and where the savings go. In this way, energy returns to the community as a development resource rather than as a cost.

This model is not reserved for large cities or major investors. It can start with an agreement among neighbors, joint planning, and the smart use of local resources – exactly as happened in Beli Breg.

– When I started working in the energy sector, talking about energy communities in rural Serbia was theoretical. Today, I am standing in a village where neighbors themselves decided to jointly produce, share, and manage electricity. This is not a small step; it is proof that the transition can be just and that it can start from the bottom up, where it is needed most, says Bojan Gajić, Program Director and one of the founders of the Platform for Energy Transition.

IN FOCUS:

• The Elder Vulture and His Successors: The Story of Serbia’s Vultures
• Is the Western Balkan Energy Market Moving Away from the European Union? 
• Green Financial Solutions Supporting More Sustainable Choices for Life, Home, and Energy 

Energy as a Basis for Village Renewal

The initiative is particularly significant because it connects energy with the broader development of the community. At a time when many rural areas are facing population decline, weakening local infrastructure, and limited economic opportunities, energy cooperatives can serve as a new model for local development.

The cooperative is a legal framework through which residents jointly decide on priorities, launch new initiatives, and invest in improving local life. At the founding assembly, four development directions were defined: energy, through joint investments in solar power and cost reduction; agriculture, through shared equipment and better organization of production; rural tourism, through the promotion of local products and nature; and mobility, through shared transport and e-mobility that would better connect the village with the town.

When neighbors in a village agree to produce electricity jointly, it is not just about energy – it is a sign that the community still exists.

About the Project

The Beli Breg Popovci Energy Cooperative was established during the first phase of the Beli Breg REC – Citizen Shared Energy project, which aimed to establish the social, organizational, and legal foundations for the collective production and sharing of clean energy in this community. The project was implemented through a series of public events and workshops with local residents, and concludes with the formal establishment of the cooperative and the definition of directions for its further work.

The Platform for Energy Transition (PET) is responsible for project management and regulatory support, while ART-ER from Italy provides the technical framework, training, and tools for monitoring results. The project is financed by the European Union, the Emilia-Romagna Region, and ART-ER.

The Beli Breg Popovci Energy Cooperative is one of the first practical examples of citizen energy in rural Serbia and perhaps the beginning of something much bigger.

Prepared by Milena Maglovski

The story was published in Energy portal Magazine CLEAN ENERGY