Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are legal entities set up by private citizens, entities, and companies, which consume self-produced energy with plants powered by renewable energy sources.
In fact, this is a major step towards an energy scenario based on distributed energy generation, which will facilitate the development of zero-kilometre energy and smart grids. In Italy, in fact, it was already possible for individual citizens or groups of companies to join together to fund the installation of a shared plant powered by renewable energy sources, but the idea that such a plant could supply energy to multiple users was not envisaged.
This model is already widespread throughout Northern Europe, and aims to disseminate the use of green and sustainable energy through the creation of virtuous systems for the production and sharing of energy from renewable sources.
However, in order to fully understand the concept, and how these communities are a fundamental tool for the ecological transition, we cannot limit ourselves to this definition alone.
The Renewable Energy Community: how it works and how to build one
The first step in building an energy community is to set up a legal entity among the community’s future members, who may be individuals, small or medium-sized enterprises, local authorities, or local public administrations.
Since, by law, an energy community cannot be a for-profit entity, the most commonly used forms are the unrecognised association or the cooperative. The next step is to identify the area where the production plant will be installed.
Once the plant is in operation, the community can apply to Italy’s Energy Services Authority (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici – GSE) to obtain the incentives provided by law for shared energy. In addition, it must be specified that the incentives are not granted for all the energy produced, but only that which is shared within the community, or rather that consumed by the members during the same production time slot.
The 3 benefits of Renewable Energy Communities
As illustrated above, it is possible to reduce energy waste and encourage the spread of renewable energy at the same time. This not only brings considerable benefits to the community in terms of energy savings (and therefore reduced CO2 emissions), but also significant savings on energy bills.
In particular, renewable energy communities provide the following benefits:
1) Environmental benefits
by avoiding the production of energy from fossil fuels, on the one hand, and by dissipating energy in grid losses on the other.
2) Economic benefits
thanks to the incentive mechanisms provided by law to promote the energy transition, which can be combined with other public grants, such as the Bonus Casa and Superbonus 110%.
3) Social benefits
thanks to the sharing of the financial incentives and economic profits with the energy community, as well as environmental benefits (reduction of pollutants and climate-changing agents) for the entire area in which the community is located.
Restart specialises in the design of renewable energy systems, specifically photovoltaic installations, and in handling the administrative procedures for their implementation and connection to the grid.
Our experience allows us to offer a “turnkey” service complete with all the consultancy needed, including the authorisation procedures, structural analyses, geological and topographical assessments, the issuance of a certified notice of commencement of business (SCIA) for fire prevention purposes, and the handling of the various procedures for the commissioning of the systems themselves, including the connection procedures with the Grid Manager, the application for an Electricity Workshop Licence from the Customs Authorities, and the application for an energy sales agreement with the GSE.
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