This year’s ManagEnergy Award competition focused on local and regional public authorities and energy agencies that are carrying out work in one of three areas: the fight against fuel poverty, implementation of renewable energy projects, and the use of innovative financing schemes.

The five cases that follow represent some of the best examples of projects in these areas and thus were selected as finalists for ManagEnergy’s annual award competition.

For the 2014 round of the competition, more than 50 projects were submitted. These were evaluated by a high-level jury composed of representatives from publicauthorities, energy agencies, city networks, and industry and citizens associations from across Europe. The evaluation procedure considered the projects’ impact,sustainability and replication potential—qualities that are clearly evident in the stories that follow.