Success story: Joining forces for energy democracy in Romania

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 Europe. At REScoop.eu we want to highlight these stories to further accelerate the movement towards a cleaner and democratic system. This month, we travel to Romania to explore the national Community Energy Coalition.

Today, Coaliția Energie Comunitară members include WWF Romania, Greenpeace Romania, the Romanian Observatory for Energy Poverty, Energy Cities Romania, Brasov regional development agency, a legal expert, two municipalities, one homeowners’ association and Cooperativa de Energie. 

Regardless of the apparent need for such structure in the country - by the time of this interview Romania has only one registered energy community in the newly Community Energy Register - establishing the coalition wasn’t an easy process. The main challenges were navigating administrative and bureaucratic procedures, and securing the funding needed for the launch. “Establishing a national coalition required both coordination and resources, so obtaining the necessary financial support was a key step in turning the idea into reality,” Olimpia explains. 

However, the local community embraced the launch of the coalition from the very beginning, which is aligned with Romanians' broad support of renewable energy. A Greenpeace survey found that 60% of respondents consider domestically produced energy as the central pillar of national energy security, and 69% believe that renewable energy is the main pathway to lower energy prices in the long term. 

This interest is also reflected in the regular requests for information and meetings the coalition receives from citizens, local authorities, and organisations to learn about energy communities and how to establish them. Olimpia recalls a memorable experience during a workshop in a small and relatively isolated village in Lopătari commune: “We ended up staying much longer than planned, as many residents wanted to talk to us. Most of them said that villages like theirs rarely have access to this kind of information or support compared with larger municipalities, and they appreciated the opportunity to discuss their ideas and concerns directly”.

The younger generation is embracing community energy as well. When the coalition visited a university to discuss business models for energy communities, they were pleasantly surprised by the students' openness to topics such as sustainability, renewable energy, and community-led initiatives. Many students showed interest in potentially becoming members of an energy community, giving hope that younger generations will engage in shaping a more sustainable energy system in the future.

In addition to knowledge sharing, the coalition has been working on advocacy and energy poverty alleviation since its creation. In November 2025, following years of joint efforts - and a few months after the coalition’s establishment - Romania established a legal framework for energy communities, marking a major milestone for the movement. Today, the secondary legislation, which makes the legal framework for energy communities operational in practice, has also been approved. However, it still needs to be further detailed through implementing rules. This implementation will be critical in determining whether the framework enables or creates barriers to the growth of energy communities in Romania. 

This year, the coalition has focused on helping energy communities become active in the current framework. Based on this practice they have developed suggestions for the procedure for setting up a national register of energy communities, as well as methodologies for energy sharing, distribution tariffs, and the use of storage facilities by energy communities. 

To address energy poverty, the coalition explored how vulnerable consumers living in Just Transition regions – the EU territories most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy – can be identified and included in energy communities. To this end, they worked with municipal representatives from Romania's Just Transition regions to co-design energy communities that reduce energy costs while increasing social inclusion. Olimpia highlights that their priority is “to ensure that energy communities are inclusive and accessible to those who can benefit the most, including low-income households, people experiencing energy poverty, elderly people living on low pensions, and vulnerable consumers identified by local authorities”.

Looking ahead, they aim to establish a help desk to provide practical guidance and support to anyone interested in creating an energy community. “We aspire to co-develop Romania's first successful energy community models that could serve as examples and inspire replication across our country,” Olimpia concludes.