As part of a revamp of our site to make it always in step with the needs of our customers, clear and appealing in content, we are soon to launch an English version of our home page. To mark our choice and offer a service of great appeal, we publish one of our articles, devoted to the topic of Energy Communities of European significance, translated into English.
What are they about?
The Renewable Energy Communities (“RECs”) were introduced in December 2019 through the Decree “Milleproroghe,” and with the following implementing decree signed on September 15, 2020 by the Minister of Economic Development. The main objective is the provision of environmental, economic or social benefits to the local communities and its members. It is made up of shareholders or members who can be natural persons, small and medium-sized enterprises (with the only condition that the provided energy will not be part of their primary activity), territorial bodies or local authorities, including municipal administrations. Based on open and voluntary participation, it’s a collaborative model, focused on a local exchange system to encourage a joint management, sustainable development and to reduce the energy dependence from the national electricity system. For example, a Municipality could install a photovoltaic system on its headquarters or on a school building and share the energy produced and fed into the electrical grid with the members who have decided to join the ERC, using the energy collected on the non-working days on Saturday and Sunday.
Advantages
According to the researc of the Polytechnic University of Milan, the businnes linked to energy communities could reach 29 billion euros, corresponding to two points of the Italian “GDP” (Gross Domestic Product). The advantages are numerous. The reduction of CO2 emissions, because the energy communities use energy produced from renewable sources; the self-production of energy and its distribution among the citizens of the energy community; savings on import costs, because the energy communities guarantee the State a greater energy self-sufficiency; the enjoyment of significant advantages in terms of reducing costs in the bill thanks to the self-production and internal distribution of energy.
European and national directives
The authority identified by national legislation, in accordance with the European RED II Directive (2018/2001/EU), to provide the incentives for electricity produced by renewable energy communities, is the Italian Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (Energy Services Manager) or “GSE.” The Individual participants will continue to choose their electricity provision and will be able to appoint their delegate (also belonging to an external company), to manage flows with the GSE. The obligation for Italy to implement the European legislation was set at June 30, 2021, following Directive 2018/2001. To facilitate the process, the resolution of the Autorità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente (ARERA, in English Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment) 318/2020/R/EEL also clarified the difference between energy communities and collective self-consumption.
Briane’s advice
This project is crucial to your community, and a professional advice can optimize its success. Briane Srl, as Energy Manager, supports the Municipalities thanks to a specialized team and providing the necessary support to verify the correspondence between the project idea and the objectives of the expression of interest, to draw up the project proposal and send the documentation online to the regional platform.
If you are interested, or even just want some information, contact us!
