January 29, 2025 from 13:00 to 14:30
Participants: Miguel Macias Sequeira
Miguel Macias Sequeira was the invited speaker for Instituto Dom Luiz (FCUL) Earth Energy Systems Seminar in January 29. He presented the topic "Renewable energy communities: From a good idea to the challenges of implementation" which fostered a deep dive on energy communities with the researchers from FCUL.
Abstract:
Renewable Energy Communities (REC) have emerged in the European legislation as an approach to engage citizens in energy transitions. A REC is a legal entity based on open and voluntary participation, which must be autonomous and effectively controlled by its members (individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, and local governments). Its main objective should be to provide environmental, economic, and/or social benefits to the members, rather than financial profits. A REC can participate in activities related to renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, aggregation, mobility, energy sharing, and self-consumption. Portugal has first transposed this concept to its national legislation in 2019. However, few projects are operational in the country with challenges such as lack of information, bureaucratic licensing, and financing difficulties hindering their development. Furthermore, he Portuguese law introduces two main concepts - collective energy sharing and renewable energy communities - which are often mixed up. This has led to an ongoing corporate capture of the energy community concept, since companies can develop commercial collective self-consumption schemes, which do not abide to the specific definition of REC, and then market them as energy communities. Buzzwords of citizen participation, democratic management, and energy poverty alleviation are often thrown around, but carry little actual meaning in most projects. In parallel, public authorities and civil society groups are also trying to move forward the REC concept with approaches more directly aligned with its intended purposes. The Telheiras/Lumiar Renewable Energy Community is one of such cases, being promoted by the Local Partnership of Telheiras - a network of non-profit organisations - and the Lumiar Civil Parish. The project brings together the local government and citizens to jointly invest, produce, and share solar power. It fosters the inclusion of energy-poor households through tailored and targeted approaches and promotes democratic management through a one-member-one-vote mechanism. Considering the challenges faced and the lessons learnt, the Telheiras/Lumiar REC published a 10-step Practical Guide for the development of renewable energy communities by citizens, associations, and local governments. This can be a useful resource for the blossoming of other RECs in Portugal, leveraging on existing civil society organisations and local governments. There is a serious risk that the potential of RECs for transformative change gets lost in the pursuit of a business-as-usual energy transition.
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