An energy community is a legal entity made up of individuals, SMEs or local authorities that come together to produce, consume, store and manage renewable energy on a collective basis. The goal is not to make a profit, but to generate social, environmental and economic benefits for the members and the local area.
EU law recognises two main types of energy communities:
- • Renewable Energy Communities (RECs): RECs are regulated by EU Directive 2018/2001 and focus on production and consumption of renewable energies such as solar, wind and biomass.
- • Citizen Energy Communities (CECs): CECs are defined in EU Directive 2019/944 and cover a wider range of activities, including power storage, management and sale.
In Spain, these EU directives have been adopted in a number of laws. These include:
- • Royal Decree 244/2019, which sets out the administrative, technical and economic conditions for individual and collective self-consumption of electricity, based on energy communities.
- • Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, which incorporates open, voluntary RECs into the Electricity Industry Act.
- • Royal Decree-Law 5/2023, which grants legal recognition to CECs.
Energy communities can offer their members a wide range of services, such as shared self-consumption of photovoltaic solar power, smart demand-side management, collective power storage, installation and maintenance of renewable infrastructures and charging points for electric vehicles, collective investments for energy efficiency improvements, personalised energy advice and participation in local energy markets. They can also facilitate access to financing or public subsidies and promote energy awareness and social cohesion in the local environment.
The primary benefits for members of energy communities are:
- • Local community-based generation.
- • Savings on electricity bills.
- • Reduction in carbon emissions.
- • Greater energy independence.
- • Active citizen participation in the energy transition.
Energy communities are thus a key tool for democratising access to renewable energy and moving towards a fairer and more sustainable energy model.
