GREBE (Generating renewable energy business enterprises)

GREBE focused on the challenges of peripheral and Arctic regions as places for doing business and helped develop renewable energy (RE) business opportunities provided by extreme conditions. It supported successful development of SMEs and start-ups in this sector through analysis of advanced RE options, expert business mentoring, transnational models of successful growth strategies, policy analysis, and information on funding mechanisms for businesses and support agencies.
By delivering practical support measures tailored specifically to the needs of SMEs and start-ups in the RE sector, the GREBE project directly contributed to more robust and dynamic NPA communities. Knowledge transfer, innovation, and learning, highlighted as key elements of successful transnational cooperation, were inherent to GREBE and played a major role in developing products and services that responded to market needs and could be replicated throughout the NPA.

A transnational clustering of RE firms in NPA regions was possible where similar SMEs and start-ups were encouraged to engage with each other, to share experiences and knowledge, and to build innovative support networks to help achieve their business aims. Key to this was the identification of new business opportunities that arose when appropriate technologies were available to sustainably exploit local renewable energy resources for economic and environmental benefit. GREBE project products and services contributed to the changes sought by the Programme in the following ways:

Funding option decision support tool
Database of RE business and technology solutions for overcoming environmental challenges of NPA regions
A suite of videos promoting RE technologies and case study examples
Renewable Energy Resource Assessment Toolkit
Entrepreneurship Enabler Model and Scheme, rolled out across NPA regions. The scheme provided practical business support services to address local RE market needs and regional challenges.
Online training and networking platform for SMEs and start-ups
Virtual Energy Ideas Hub—assisted partnership building transnationally between producers, technology providers, and entrepreneurs

Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme