What is an Energy Community?
An energy community (EC) is a way to organise collective energy actions around open democratic participation and governance and to provide benefits to its members or the local community. Benefits can be social, environmental or economic, though the latter should not be the driver. Participation is open to a wide group of stakeholders, citizens, local governments, public entities and companies, but decision making can be limited to avoid that large entities active in the sector monopolize the initiative.
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Collective Energy Actions
This infographic compares and contrasts energy communities and collective energy actions. It highlights the key differences between these concepts, such as their goals, structure, and funding mechanisms.
Publication Date: 30 Mar 2023
Author: DECIDE
7 types of Energy Communities and Collective Actions
Publication Date: 27 Feb 2023
Author: DECIDE
DECIDE position paper on Energy Communities and Collective Actions
Based on the research onducted over the past two years, DECIDE can conclude that Collective Energy Actions (CEAs) as a broader approach compared to Renewable, and Citizen Energy Communities (RECs and CECs) will play a pivotal role in accelerating the inclusive energy transition progresses and uptake of clean energy technologies.
With this position paper DECIDE calls for an active inclusion of CEAs in...
Publication Date: 27 Oct 2022
Author: DECIDE
DECIDE for top-notch energy communities
This publication provides practical tips, powerful success stories and invaluable resources to build a local, community-led renewable energy revolution.
Get inspired by existing business models and learn how to finance renewable energy projects. Focus on low organisational cost and contain risks with excellent planning, while exploring the opportunities in crisis.
Keep going like a pro! Know your...
Publication Date: 10 Aug 2022
Author: Lucija Rakocevic, Leen Peeters, Mona Bieling, Philipp Hartmann, Tom Verheyen, Matteo Vanzini, Andreas Klar, Silvia Assalini, Valeria Eirin, Carsten Rothballer
This may surprise you. Things we have learnt from talking about energy with 68 initiatives
The overall vision of the Horizon 2020 project Energy Citizens for Inclusive Decarbonization (ENCLUDE) is to help the EU fulfil its promise of a just and inclusive decarbonization through sharing and co-creating new knowledge and practices that maximize the number and diversity of citizens who are willing and able to contribute to the energy transition.
By establishing a structured and well...
Publication Date: 22 Sep 2022
Author: Malgorzata (Gosia) Matowska, Christina Protopapadaki, Michael Brenner-Fliesser ENCLUDE Project, European Commission, DG ENER
Clean energy for EU islands: Technology solutions booklet
The Clean energy for EU islands Initiative was launched in May 2017, underlining the European Union’s intent to accelerate the clean energy transition on Europe’s more than 2,400 inhabited islands. The initiative aims to reduce the dependency of European islands on energy imports by making better use of their own renewable energy sources. As a support to the launch of the initiative, the Clean energy...
Publication Date: 29 Oct 2021
Author: Clean energy for EU islands secretariat managed by the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy
How can cities support community energy?
Local authorities and energy communities are “a match made in heaven”,in the words of John Vandaele, President and co-founder of the Belgianenergy cooperative EnerGent. Indeed, virtuous long-term partnershipsacross the whole sustainability spectrum often develop out of initiallysmall collaboration projects between cities and energy community groups.If you are looking at the various ways you, as a...
Publication Date: 20 Sep 2021
Author: Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Europe
The impact of the EU’s changing electricity market design on the development of smart and sustainable cities and energy communities
This policy paper aims to bring hands-on insights and experiences from EU-funded projects and initiatives on the ground, and to formulate policy recommendations based on these. I focus on aspects that affect urban planning and governance for Smart Cities and Communities (SCC). checks the assumptions that underpin the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package (CEP), and identifies challenges and opportunities that come forward in the SCC domain.
Publication Date: 01 Mar 2021
Author: Smart Cities Marketplace
Energy Communities Solution Booklet
Energy communities (ECs) are a new cooperation concept in the energy market, introduced by the Clean Energy Package. They are not a totally new phenomenon: in several EU member states they were already allowed in one way or another.
Publication Date: 01 Nov 2020
Author: EU Smart Cities Information System
