Policy paper
How can EU Member States support energy communities?
Guidance document for governments & advocates
Following the EU's Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package, EU Member States are currently working on transposing the definitions of Renewable Energy Communities and Citizen Energy Communities into their national laws.
If done right, these definitions will allow citizens to become active participants in and owners of the energy transition, and will make community energy projects flourish throughout Europe.
But how can openness, democratic governance and autonomy be reflected in national level definitions of energy communities?
Why this report?
For many, energy communities are brand new. Fortunately, there are many long-existing best practices to supporting energy communities, with new examples popping up all the time. In this report, we compile a variety of helpful examples to cover the many fields that energy communities operate in. If it's your job in government to implement these definitions, or if you want to help influence how your government proceeds with energy communities in your Member State, this document is for you!
What's in the report?
The report contains in-depth explanations and examples for how the EU definitions can be transposed into national law, how governments can ensure open and voluntary membership, what activities energy communities can engage in, how to facilitate access to the energy market for energy communities, what types of legal entities can be envisaged, what types of support schemes are appropriate to support the growth of energy communities, and more.