Today, Mérida City Council hosted the presentation of Hémera, the Digital School for the Energy Transition, sponsored by Redeia, Red Eléctrica's parent company, and the Spanish Federation of Popular Universities (FEUP). It is a free training initiative, a pioneer in Spain, intended to empower citizens as protagonists of the new energy model and provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate it.

The presentation was attended by the Councillor for Training for Employment, Popular University, Archaeological Heritage and Museums of the City Council of Mérida, Pilar Amor; the president of the FEUP, Mónica Calurano, and the delegate of Redeia in Extremadura, Jorge Jiménez Luna.

The school is a key tool for raising public awareness of the need and opportunities presented by the ecological transition through information, awareness-raising and basic training actions. Anyone can receive training and information from Hémera on renewable energies, energy saving, self-consumption, energy rehabilitation of buildings, creation of energy communities, etc., providing citizens with sufficient knowledge to develop their own projects.

Hémera is now continuing its work in Mérida with an introductory course on renewable energies and self-consumption, developed in collaboration with EnerAgen (Association of Spanish Energy Management Agencies), together with other contents such as the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), the new energy paradigm, climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Councillor for Training for Employment and Popular University of Mérida City Council, Pilar Amor, stressed that "the Hémera School is a great opportunity for training for new sustainable jobs in the 21st century. The Mérida City Council and its Popular University focus on caring for our planet and on an entrepreneurial future for the necessary energy and sustainable transition".

The president of the FEUP, Mónica Calurano, pointed out that "Hémera is helping us to move towards a decentralised energy model. Thanks to this programme, the Popular Universities are taking on the challenge of leading the energy transition with the aim of building a greener and more sustainable world, placing citizens at the centre of this historic change".

Redeia's delegate Jorge Jiménez Luna also highlighted the value and importance of the consumer in the path towards the energy transition. "It is important for Redeia that the people of Extremadura know that they have a leading role in the transition to a clean energy scenario, not only as consumers, but also as producers, each to the extent of their possibilities. The conversion of the current system into a cleaner and more supportive one is everyone's responsibility".

Based around the Hémera school, and through a network of 500 Popular Universities, multiple training and awareness-raising activities are being carried out across Spain on the need for a new energy model based on decarbonisation and the massive penetration of renewables, innovation and technology, as well as the central role of the citizens in the ecological transition.

Hémera is the first phase of a more ambitious collective intelligence project that will create "Hubs_Energía" or "Energy Hubs", laboratories where citizens, organisations and institutions will design and create prototypes for innovative projects related to the green and circular economy.

The Digital School for the Energy Transition, Hémera, was presented in five autonomous regions in 2023, in the cities of Logroño, La Solana, Lorca, Palencia and Avilés.