Renewable Energy Community: a new way of producing – and thinking about – energy
Find out how you can join an REC and contribute to a more sustainable energy model.
What is an Energy Community?
The new Italian regulations concerning Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) give a significant boost to distributed generation, encouraging the development of ‘zero-mile’ local energy production and smart grids.
An Energy Community is an association that produces and shares renewable energy, generating and managing cost-effective green energy autonomously, reducing CO2 emissions and energy waste. The community may be composed of local citizens, businesses, public administrations, small and medium-sized enterprises, etc.
Who can form or belong to one: prerequisites
The members of an energy community can be individuals or legal entities: basically, any public or private entity that wants to form a Renewable Energy Community. For example, people who live in the same neighborhood and want to develop a REC may do so.
What steps need to be followed? First of all, it’s necessary to identify the area where the energy production plant will be installed, because it must be in proximity to the consumers. Generally speaking, disused industrial land is particularly recommended: such sites are generally big enough to house a future renewable plant and meet the size, position and designated use requirements outlined in the regulations.
The electricity produced must be shared using the existing electricity distribution grid and the self-consumption of the renewable energy occurs virtually.
The plant does not necessarily have to be owned by the Community; it can also be made available by one or more of the participating members, or even by a third party.
Benefits of Energy Communities sharing energy
Energy Communities also promote the circular economy, because the plants are usually constructed on disused industrial land, which is repurposed. They also offer a substantial opportunity to support and boost the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, which can find a role to play in the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the renewable plants, which benefits local industry and employment in the area in which they operate.