Dirk Van Sintjan

Dirk Vansintjan, President of the European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives, REScoop.eu.
As a student (1977-1982), Dirk Vansintjan was active in the progressive student movement, the ecological movement, the anti-nuclear movement and the peace movement in Flanders/Belgium.
He was involved in founding the Green Party in Flanders (1977-1985) and has been a member of the council of the municipality Rotselaar for 12 years.
He co-founded the co-housing project in the watermill of Rotselaar (9 dwellings, 70 kW hydropower) and was active in TSAP, an NGO focused on co-housing, renewable energy and monuments (1985-2000) and Molenforum Vlaanderen, an umbrella organisation for the preservation of old wind- and watermills and the profession of miller.
He co-founded the citizen energy cooperative Ecopower (in 1991) and the Organisatie voor Duurzame Energie Vlaanderen, ODE-Vlaanderen, (in 1996), the sectorial organisation for renewable energy in Flanders.
He also co-founded and was vice-president of REScoop.be (2010-2020) and is president of REScoop.eu (since the foundation in 2013), the federation of citizen energy cooperatives in Europe.
Ecopower now has 64 000 members and supplies 1.6% of Flemish households with green electricity. REScoop.eu is now an associate member of Cooperatives Europe, the European branch of the International Cooperative Alliance, ICA. Dirk Vansintjan is still a board member of both organisations.