Stories
Success story: A cross-border energy cooperative blossoms in the Iberian peninsula
Community energy is key to action on the climate crisis. It can empower people, boost local economies, and reinvigorate communities. Community-led initiatives play an important role in the transition towards a 100% renewable and just energy future. Success stories of community energy projects can be found all over the world. At REScoop.eu we want to highlight these stories to further accelerate the movement towards a cleaner and democratic system. This month, we traveled to the border of Spain and Portugal to learn about a unique energy community: EfiDuero Energy.
Citizen energy vs. mega solar farms
The Douro/Duero region, which extends from western Spain to eastern Portugal, is recognised for its wine production. Like many rural areas, the region faces economic challenges including depopulation and unemployment, making it an appealing location for energy corporations looking to install mega solar farms. These impact the environment without providing tangible benefits to citizens, and fuel a growing trend of dispossession of local land-owners, who sell their land to renewable developers.
The current geopolitical context has accelerated these developments in many rural regions across Europe. After the start of the war in Ukraine, new European policies aimed to accelerate decarbonisation to break dependence on Russian gas, and public funds were made available for the development of renewables. Boosted by these funds, the surface covered by solar panels in the region of Douro/Duero was multiplied by seven in a single year (2022-2023), leading to increasing concern by local residents over the scale and number of these massive renewable projects realised without involving citizens.
EfiDuero: a rural success
The EfiDuero Energy Cooperative was founded in 2017. It aimed to address local challenges by empowering citizens in Spain and Portugal to lead the energy transition and strengthen the region economically. Listing its achievements is a feat in itself.
EfiDuero was the first cross-border Citizen Energy Community in the Iberian peninsula, and became the main electricity supplier in the area within a couple of years. The cooperative, which includes 77 municipalities, installed a whopping 221 rooftop solar installations on public buildings between 2021 and 2025, and produces 74% of the electricity its members consume. As José Luis Pascual, the director of the cooperative, said,“We’re very close to achieving energy independence, which will allow us to generate free energy for people in our region.”
EfiDuero also manages the peninsula’s largest e-car charging network, comprising 60 charging points, complemented by a useful online map which enables residents to plan their trips. Twenty eight cars with drivers (municipal employees) are also made available to members – responding to a crucial mobility need of elderly residents. These ambitious achievements have stimulated local job creation in sectors like renewable energy installation, maintenance and technical support.
The cooperative strives to involve residents and the larger community: membership in the democratically-run cooperative is open to citizens and local businesses, costs only €50, and applies the one-member-one-vote principle. EfiDuero is also committed to social inclusivity: selling electricity to its members at cost price and providing free electricity to vulnerable households.
To minimise its impact on the local environment and the climate, EfiDuero adheres to the principle of sufficiency, limiting its installations to local needs. The cooperative also prioritises installing solar panels on existing buildings like schools and municipal buildings: “We have countless rooftops, municipal and private, with more than enough capacity to generate 100 % of the energy we need, without the need for massive solar farms,” said José Luis Pascual.
A history of cross-border collaboration
The Douro/Duero region is characterised by a rich heritage of cross-border exchanges, including food and craft fairs bringing together farmers and artisans from both countries. The founding of the cooperative is linked to this history, and a willingness to work together to overcome challenges.
Indeed, EfiDuero’s creation is linked to another cross-border initiative: a regional entity founded in 2009, the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). The Duero-Douro EGTC has its own legal status, and aims to strengthen cross-border cooperation and economic and social cohesion.
The cooperative was created at the EGTC and member municipalities’ initiative, eventually leading to a new joint project in 2021: Energy for the People.
Based on three pillars, the project aimed to guarantee affordable electricity prices, launch a participatory management model involving citizens, municipalities, associations and SMEs to accelerate the installation of renewable electricity production, and launch one-stop-shops to build the capacities of citizens through informational sessions and workshops.
Overcoming unique challenges
The cross-border nature of the project brings opportunities along with unique legal difficulties.
Initially, the cooperative assumed it could operate as a retailer in both Spain and Portugal as the same entity, but regulations prevented this. While EfiDuero has been incorporated in Spain since 2017, efforts to achieve this in Portugal are ongoing. Given regulatory differences between the two countries, all renewable installations are also located in Spain for the time being.
To tackle these issues, EfiDuero is advocating for legal reforms to simplify bureaucratic processes, facilitate the creation of cross-border energy communities, and enable energy sharing between the two countries.
Technical challenges also arose, specifically concerning the neglected state of the electricity grid. Although a 2002 law mandated updates to the network by electricity companies in Spain, this was often neglected in rural regions, slowing down renewable installations. Updates to the grid required mobilisation, including strategic press work, advocacy efforts, and public pressure on the part of residents.
Next steps
In any case, the successes of EfiDuero’s inspiring work is fomenting a lot of interest at the regional, national and European level. The project was also recognised as the best energy community of 2025 by the Association of Spanish Energy Management Agencies.
Looking forward, EfiDuero is planning its next project on sustainable shared mobility in rural areas, to equip twenty-eight new bus shelters with solar panels and charging points and acquire twenty-eight shared electric vehicles for residents of the municipalities. EfiDuero’s inspiring story is still being written.