On Friday 24th of October, the Santa Ana neighbourhood became the epicenter of the local energy transition with the celebration of Energy Day, a festive and participatory event organized by the Ermua City Council as part of Asteklima 2025, the Basque Country Climate and Energy Week, and coinciding with the International Day Against Climate Change. The event served to present and promote the recently formed Ekielkar energy community, a project that seeks to make renewable energy a shared reality for residents, local businesses, and the Eskolabarri school.
The event had a clear objective: to promote the conscious and sustainable use of energy, strengthen community ties, and highlight the local commitment to the energy transition. And it did so with a simple but powerful formula: learning by doing, sharing as a community, and demonstrating that small gestures are the beginning of great changes.
Energy Enters the School
The day began at the Eskolabarri school, where 147 primary school students participated in activities to discover how solar energy works and what benefits the energy community brings to the neighborhood and the planet. There was an interactive talk, a practical demonstration with a real-life photovoltaic installation model -which allowed the students to power a lamp and a fan with solar energy- and a collective mural of personal commitments to saving energy at home and at the school. Each student took home a biodegradable notebook with seeds, as a symbol that change also comes from planting.
The Square, a Space for Collective Action
In the afternoon, the pedestrianized Santa Ana Square—a former parking lot transformed through a participatory process and currently in the testing phase—became a point of citizen action for the energy transition.
More than 65 people completed the Energy Passport, a tour of four thematic stands with micro-actions on solar energy, energy savings, responsible consumption, and reducing CO₂ emissions. Each activity was practical and accessible: plugging in cables, sorting habits by consumption, writing CO₂ equivalents, or leaving visible commitments. Because when something is touched and done, learning becomes action.
The day was accompanied by music and an exhibition on the energy transition. Those who completed the energy passport enjoyed a Km0 community snack and received a recycled bag with the image of the mural chosen by the residents, symbolizing the neighborhood’s identity and collective action, along with a reusable metal bottle as a gesture toward responsible consumption.
A day to bring the energy transition closer
The Energy Day was much more than a celebration: it was presented as an example of how collaboration between different stakeholders can drive the energy transition from the local level. The day brought together the Ermua City Council and its drOp project partners, Tecnalia, and Mondragon University, demonstrating that innovation and citizen participation are essential to turning a global challenge into concrete, local actions. It was a diverse, intergenerational gathering that demonstrated that the energy transition can be accessible, practical, and shared. With simple and dynamic activities, the event transformed a global challenge into a local, accessible, and enjoyable experience, where every step counts toward building a more sustainable future.
