• Energy autonomy is a strategic necessity for Europe and the Basque Country. Currently, its own renewable electricity production covers only 7.9% of the electricity consumption in the Basque Country, one of the lowest rates in Europe.
  • The Basque Government launches a citizens’ assembly to discuss how to move towards greater renewable electricity production in the Basque Country and what criteria should guide the location of the new facilities.
  • A diverse group of people, representative of Basque society and selected through civic sampling carried out in collaboration with Eustat, will deliberate following an international methodology that has already worked successfully in other European countries.
  • The citizens’ assembly will begin its deliberations in November this year and will end in June 2027 with a final report.
  • With this pilot project, the Basque Government reinforces its commitment to collaborative governance, promoting spaces for deliberation that allow the voice of citizens to be incorporated into the construction of shared solutions for the great challenges of the Basque Country.

 

Energy autonomy is a strategic necessity for Europe and the Basque Country in the current geopolitical context. The Basque Country needs to advance in energy autonomy through the development of its own renewable electricity generation capacity.

However, renewable electricity production in the territory currently covers only 7.9% of total electricity consumption, compared to 46.9% of the European average. Moving towards greater energy autonomy requires deciding how to increase renewable generation and how to make this development compatible with the protection of the territory.

Energy autonomy is not only an energy and climate challenge, but also an opportunity to build a more competitive, more resilient Basque Country with a greater capacity to generate industry, quality employment and well-being for present and future generations.

The Basque Government, through its Office of Energy Transition and Climate Change, launches a pilot citizen assembly project that will focus the deliberation on a question of great relevance for the future of the Basque Country: how much renewable energy production should increase and what criteria should be used to decide where to locate the new facilities necessary to achieve it.

The citizens’ assembly will incorporate the gaze of Basque society into this debate, complementing the technical knowledge and action of the institutions. The participants will be able to inform themselves, listen to different positions, contrast arguments and reach agreements on possible recommendations that will later elevate the Basque Government. These recommendations will be used for the analysis, design and development of the Government’s energy planning.

A civic draw to represent the diversity of the Basque Country

The process will begin with the sending of 20,000 letters of invitation to people living in the Basque Country. These people have been selected through a civic sampling carried out in collaboration with Eustat-Basque Institute of Statistics. Among the people who receive the letter and voluntarily formalize their registration there will be a second draw to select the 32 people who will finally integrate the citizens’ assembly.

The selection will ensure a balanced representation of people of different ages, territories and sociocultural profiles, with the aim of reflecting the plurality of Basque society. The objective is to bring together a diverse group of people who can contribute different experiences and points of view to the debate on the energy future of the Basque Country.

It will not be necessary to have prior technical knowledge to participate. The process is designed so that anyone can understand the issues raised, listen to different opinions and contribute with their own experience and judgment.

Five meetings to be informed, to deliberate and to make proposals

The citizens’ assembly will take place through five face-to-face sessions scheduled between November 2026 and February 2027. A committee of experts will accompany the process and provide different views on energy transition, climate change, industry, economy and territory. The assembly process will conclude with a final report in June 2027.

Deliberative governance

The citizens’ assembly has been designed following the OECD guidelines on collaborative governance and is inspired by experiences developed in different European countries, such as Ireland, France, Germany, Scotland or Austria. Such initiatives enable representatively selected individuals to gain in-depth knowledge of a public matter, to listen to different positions and to collectively develop recommendations.

With this initiative, the Basque Government incorporates a space of listening, deliberation and co-responsibility to its governance model, advancing collaborative governance. The citizens’ assembly does not replace the work of the institutions or the usual mechanisms of participation, but complements them through an informed, plural and structured citizen participation. It is a way to promote spaces for deliberation that allow the voice of citizens to be incorporated into the construction of shared solutions for the great challenges facing the Basque Country, such as energy autonomy.