This workshop explores the role of islands as living laboratories for the energy transition, highlighting how their characteristics make them both vulnerable to external pressures and well suited to pioneer innovative solutions. Islands face persistent challenges such as dependence on imported fossil fuels, limited infrastructure, higher energy costs, and vulnerability to climate change. At the same time, their geographical boundaries, strong sense of community, and visibility turn them into ideal testbeds for replicable solutions in renewable energy, storage, smart grids, and citizen engagement.

The session will showcase results from leading EU-funded projects, each addressing complementary aspects of the clean energy transition.

• NESOI and NESOI+ support local authorities in preparing and implementing clean energy investments while contributing to the UNI standard, a harmonized methodology for sustainable transition planning in insular contexts.
• Masterpiece focuses on local empowerment and replication of island solutions, showing how municipalities can turn pilot experiences into broader strategies.
• Sinnogenes advances the design of resilient energy systems for insular territories, ensuring reliability and adaptability in the face of climate and infrastructure challenges.
• ISLET highlights the role of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) in accelerating islands’ decarbonisation. By developing models specifically addressing typical features and barriers of insular areas, ISLET would improve the capacity of islands’ municipalities to support citizen-led initiatives, enhance participation, and improve access to funding. ISLET also builds a European peer-to-peer support network, enabling municipalities and communities to replicate REC experiences across the Mediterranean and beyond.

The workshop will also feature the BRIDGE initiative, promoting collaboration across EU projects in smart grids, storage, digitalisation, and energy communities, linking project outcomes to European policy discussions. The session is designed as an interactive workshop rather than a sequence of stand-alone presentations. Each speaker will provide a concise overview of project goals and results, followed by a moderated discussion with the audience.

Expected outcomes include:

• Strengthening networks among projects on insular energy systems.
• Collecting feedback and needs from stakeholders.
• Mapping opportunities for joint exploitation and dissemination.
• Building awareness of emerging standards.
• Supporting municipalities and citizens in adopting RECs.

By combining innovation, policy alignment, and community engagement, the workshop shows how islands can shift from being “energy challenges” to “energy pioneers,” offering valuable lessons for the wider European transition.