Energy communities (ECs) embody a collaborative, democratic approach to energy that empowers communities, fosters sustainability, and promotes a more inclusive and responsible energy landscape.
By bringing people together to collectively own renewable energy assets and govern related activities, ECs can empower individuals and communities, boost local economies, ignite social cohesion and ensure social acceptance of the clean energy transition.
The launch (in 2019) of the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package officially recognised ECs as legal actors in the energy market. In turn, all EU citizens acquired the right to set up or become a member of an EC. The Package offered a formal definition based on ECs carrying out three interrelated activities:
- develop and operate local and cooperative production and storage infrastructure for renewable energy;
- sell renewable energy to households and businesses; and
- provide energy, energy efficiency and energy poverty services.
How are ECs distinct from other energy actors?
A key feature of ECs is that – in sharp contrast to traditional energy suppliers – rather than seeking solely to generate financial profit from the supply and sale of energy services, they aim to provide a broader range of services in ways that also deliver local environmental, economic and social benefits for members, shareholders and communities. Shaped by – and responsive to – the needs of communities they serve and driven by collective principles, ECs replace the supplier-consumer relationship with approaches that promote greater interaction and solidarity among members around energy-related issues.
Because of their underlying principles and the fact that they are often well-established within their local areas, ECs are well-placed to play a pivotal role on the journey towards more just energy systems. As demonstrated through a CEES Survey, a growing number of ECs are keen to raise awareness of energy poverty and engage in, or indeed lead, actions to tackle it through solutions tailored to the specific needs and challenges of their communities. In reality, few currently feel equipped – in terms of experience, expertise or resources – to implement projects.
To develop targeted and effective interventions, all actors – including ECs – need a solid understanding of how energy poverty manifests itself in the context(s) in which they operate. They may even find it useful to further refine wording and definitions to better reflect the multiple important roles that energy plays in the daily lives of the communities they serve and recognise the problems that arise from its lack.
Click through to read more blogs related to ‘Getting Started‘.
- ECs need to onboard new skills
- Summary of energy solidarity tools
- Energy solidarity to tackle energy poverty
- Aligning community needs and EC capacity
- Putting energy solidarity into practice
- The Energy Solidarity Toolkit
- Understanding energy poverty, broadly and in local contexts
- Assigning roles: staff or volunteers