The Telheiras/Lumiar Renewable Energy Community (CERT/L) is a citizen-led, non-profit energy community in Lisbon, developed through collaboration between local citizens and organisations, the Lumiar Parish Council, Coopérnico and CENSE NOVA-FCT. Originating from a neighbourhood participatory process, the initiative combines local solar generation and electricity sharing with energy advice, social inclusion and democratic community governance. Electricity sharing started in June 2025, and the community currently operates two photovoltaic systems with a combined capacity of 32.89 kWp and 70 active members, including households, vulnerable consumers and non-residential participants.

CERT/L also functions as a living laboratory for interdisciplinary research on citizen-led energy transitions. The collaboration with CENSE NOVA-FCT connects the real operation of the community with scientific work on renewable energy communities, energy poverty and energy justice, collective self-consumption, photovoltaic system design, electricity demand profiles, dynamic energy-sharing mechanisms, flexibility, governance and community business models. The research benefits from high-resolution operational datasets, including 15-minute smart-meter consumption and sharing data and measured photovoltaic generation, enabling analyses that go beyond simulated energy-community configurations and investigate real technical, economic and social outcomes.

The case has already supported academic research and knowledge production, including Master’s research at NOVA-FCT, scientific publications and conference contributions. Research outputs include work on the technical design and matching of distributed PV generation with local electricity demand, the development process and participation model of the community, and the broader role of citizen-led energy communities in urban energy transitions. Through this close interaction between research and implementation, CERT/L provides a real-world experimental setting to develop, test and evaluate socio-technical solutions for more democratic, inclusive and locally grounded energy systems. The knowledge generated is also translated into practical tools, guidance and capacity-building activities aimed at supporting other citizen groups, local authorities and energy communities in Portugal and across Europe.

In addition to ongoing support and informal collaboration, CENSE NOVA-FCT supported the development of the energy community during two formal moments:

• Technical assistance of the European Commission Initiative Energy Poverty Advisory Hub [2022-2023] - planning of the energy community's implementation in collaboration with a local NGO and the local government, including the selection of a pilot location, the design of the financial and operational model, the design of a solidarity mechanism for the inclusion of energy-poor households, and the recruitment of the founding members,


• Technical support in the scope of the European Energy Communities Facility [2026] - development of a business plan for 2026-2030 for the energy community, including the delivery of a trilogy of reports, namely 1) detailed analysis of real world operation during the first year of the energy community, 2) solar PV sizing, energy consumption analysis, and energy sharing modelling for 19 local buildings, and 3) technical, economical, and financial modelling for the expansion of the energy community from 2026-2030.