Photo by: Lilly M, licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0

The island of Bornholm is the first ever winner of the EU RESponsible Island Prize. The Danish island won the €500,000 cash prize in recognition for its innovative energy solutions and its contribution to a sustainable and climate-friendly Europe, the European Commission announced on 28 April. The second prize of €250,000 went to the island of Samsø, also in Denmark, and the third prize of €100,000 to the Orkney Islands in the United Kingdom. The three winners have embraced a green agenda for decades, putting their communities at the heart of the transformation towards fully renewable energy systems

The European Commission launched the first RESponsible Island Prize in March 2019 to reward achievements in local renewable energy production for electricity, heating, cooling and transport on islands. Islands often have high local energy costs but can benefit from the transition to renewable energy sources such as the creation of local jobs and sustainable tourism. The more than 2000 inhabited islands in the EU are ideal test labs to develop innovative energy technologies and can serve as energy transition models for small communities in general.

The next edition of the RESponsible Island Prize is now open for applications. Applicants from EU Member States and third countries associated to Horizon 2020 can submit their proposals by 29 September 2020.