Energy Community

Researchers have looked into the impact of potential regulated charge exemptions on two types of energy communities in 39 European countries. They have found that communities with collectively owned PV systems achieve greater savings.

The French government has issued a long-awaited decree to expand the maximum permitted distance between members of energy communities from 2 km to 20 km.

Researchers in Spain have studied the impact of hydrogen production and storage technologies in risk management for energy communities with internal price-tariff systems. They found that the optimal involvement in futures markets and spot markets will depend on a community’s risk aversion and self-sufficiency.

A European Union-funded project is bringing building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions to eight historical cities in Europe. pv magazine recently spoke with Júlia Pereira, project coordinator for EDP New, about the innovative solutions being blended into the landscape in Évora, Portugal.

Spain’s Tranesol is setting up two energy communities that will be powered by 2.5 MW of agrivoltaics. The two facilities will be located in the Valencian Community, which is at the forefront for supporting projects for solar power sharing.

Belgium is testing its first energy community by giving special status to a solar energy pilot near Brussels. The project will help to create a large-scale legal framework to apply the European Directives to energy communities.

Consumer- and municipally-owned energy systems are lauded as key elements of the energy transition. However, their market design in many regions is still prohibitively complex. The European Committee of the Regions has presented a policy recommendation to address these issues, and enable a just and democratic energy transition.

With its feed-in tariff program set to expire at the end of the year, Serbia will be looking to introduce new mechanisms to support renewables in the form of feed-in premiums and auctions. The country’s PV uptake is still in its nascent stage however, with abundant regulatory obstacles still in place

Serbia needs to adopt a set of amendments to the current Energy Law, which envisages support for renewable energy, in order to harmonize its legal framework with the European Union’s acquis, says EU energy watchdog.