{"id":3866,"date":"2022-07-25T04:42:14","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T04:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solarmile.gr\/energy-communities\/"},"modified":"2024-02-15T14:20:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:20:23","slug":"energy-communities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/solarmile.gr\/en\/energy-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Energy
Communities<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tWHAT THEY ARE<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is an Energy Community<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Energy communities are local exclusive-purpose civil cooperatives through which primarily citizens, and secondarily municipalities or business enterprises, can participate in the energy sector by exploiting clean energy sources. The new institutional framework offers favorable terms for establishing and operating energy communities with the aim of supporting local entrepreneurship, a solidarity economy and the advancement of an energy democracy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The energy community model has already been well established and is successfully functioning in European countries. The European Union itself supports their operation, as stated in Article 22 of the directive on renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

Specifically, there were 869 energy communities in Germany at the start of 2019, with 183,000 members, investments in RES amounting to \u20ac1.7 billion and holding approximately 31.5% of the overall installed RES power. Aside from generating, allocating and providing energy, they were also expanding into the operation and holding of electrical grids.<\/p>\n

In Denmark, wind farms were developed alongside energy cooperatives, proving that social participation can work in tandem and strengthen innovation and a shift to RES.<\/p>\n

Belgium\u2019s Ecopower, an energy cooperative active since the 1990s, now has 57,000 members and enjoys a 1.5% market share. Through targeted energy efficiency actions, it has offered its members a savings in electricity of up to 50% over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Since 2019, special government funding has been set aside in the Netherlands to support energy communities, at a time when that country’s climate policy has set a non-binding target to cover at least 50% of new wind and solar projects through energy communities.<\/p>\n

In Spain, the SOM ENERGIA energy community has exceeded 68,000 members and generates 18 GWH of power, which is allocated to its members.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Functions of energy communities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The purposes and activities of energy communities include:<\/p>\n