Cooperation among energy communities

Objective

Helps energy communities evolve beyond first-generation solar PV projects toward collective heating and cooling, flexibility and storage services, integrated local energy management, or one-stop-shop services to other communities. More than 8,000 community energy initiatives are active across Europe, but their development is uneven and many promising business models remain insufficiently explored. The Citizens Energy Package commits the Commission to deliver an Energy Communities Action Plan; this topic supports the operational scale-up.

Scope (proposals must address one of the two)

• Scope A — Support to "second-level communities" — coalitions that represent, aggregate and serve multiple energy communities. Activities include mutualising services (legal, technical, financial, communication), supporting the development and implementation of new energy-community projects, defining the long-term role in the ecosystem (one-stop shop, back-office, knowledge hub).
• Scope B — Diversification and professionalisation of individual energy communities — moving beyond solar PV into renewable heating and cooling, energy efficiency measures in buildings, flexibility services (demand response, community storage, smart charging, dynamic tariffs, peer-to-peer aggregation), electromobility services supporting renewable integration.

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) under the Renewable Energy Directive and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) under the Electricity Directive are both in scope.

What this means for cities and regions

Cities, regional energy agencies and municipal utilities frequently sit inside or alongside energy communities. This topic funds the secondary infrastructure — federations, networks, mentoring relationships — that lets communities professionalise. Consortia of 3 partners from 3 countries; topic budget €7M at 95% co-financing.