It was an uneven start at first for the Alpine energy data platform. CERVINO partners met with some restraint regarding the actual energy data insertion that had to be provided by the local stakeholders. Few actors entered the required information on the platform at the beginning, even though the great attention paid to the launch event at the end of May predicted the opposite. Some primary restraint was certainly to be expected because bureaucratic processes in the regions had to be followed and data insertion takes some time. But more project partners met with moderation than was initially assumed. Apparently, the regional energy experts were not yet aware of the great value added by the new energy data platform. Hence CERVINO partners reacted quickly and initiated another motivating campaign around all the invited stakeholders. The occasion of an internal Eusalp Action Group 9 meeting was taken as an opportunity by the CERVINO team in order to call upon all the participating regions again to complete the energy data survey. Fortunately, the effort was rewarded and step by step the platform gained information by information.
As of today, almost every participating region recorded action by the local stakeholders. Thanks to the Interreg Alpine Space funded project, the project partners were able to take over the input of energy data or provide support during the ongoing development of the CERVINO data platform. For the continuation of the Energy Survey in the upcoming years, the input of data by the responsible energy data offices is indispensable and possibilities of cooperation are discussed.
Energy data from Niederösterreich, Tirol, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Franche-Comté, Baden-Württemberg, Lombardia, Liguria, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Liechtenstein and Slovenia has been collected for 2020 and 2021, Bavaria for 2019 to 2021. The insertion of data from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Steiermark and Piemonte is still pending. However, the CERVINO project partners are more than confident to receive the missing energy data soon.
CERVINO is therefore classified to be well on track in its commitment to facilitate energy data exchange in the programme area. That is what all the involved partners agreed on at the midterm review. The midterm review is a newly introduced instrument with the goal to offer space for a dialogue between the project partnership (lead partner and project partners) and the programme managing bodies (Joint Secretariat (JS), the Managing Authority (MA) and the Alpine Space national contact point (ACP). The Lead Partner of CERVINO (IRE) noted in this context that the impact of dissemination activities is generally positive. With the help of the data that has already been collected, the project partners are currently preparing a video for all the participating stakeholders. This video is going to demonstrate the potential and practical usability of the inserted data by, for and from different regions and visualize the functionalities of the platform itself. The video is made by AURA-EE and EWO and will be available in August to convince even the few missing regions to complete the survey. Last but not least, the process needs to be accelerated once again, as the possibility of having an observatory of energy data was highlighted in the last meeting of the Eusalp Action Group 9 on July 6th. The theme was in fact included on the AG9 Workplan as a strategic flagship initiative and thereby raises the CERVINO project to a higher level of significance.
