«Energy Communities» is a book that represents a collective effort to deepen knowledge and expand understanding about energy communities, offering a comprehensive view that covers technical, legal, economic and social aspects. It is hoped that this work will serve as a valuable reference for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and all those interested in promoting a more sustainable and inclusive energy future.

Book chapter abstract: Renewable energy communities have recently emerged as a mechanism for producing and sharing local renewable energy, with the potential to contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, the eradication of energy poverty and the involvement of citizens in the energy transition to local scale. However, at a European level, there are still few projects in operation and there is a lack of knowledge about their implementation process and their practical impacts. In this chapter, we present the case-study of the Telheiras Renewable Energy Community, which is in the final licensing phase in Lisbon, Portugal. We then explored 10 phases of the development process of this pilot and the respective results, using the analysis of the minutes of 42 meetings and other internal and external documents. This case study allows us to identify the main challenges for the creation of energy communities by citizens, associations and local governments, as well as the solutions found to overcome them. The Telheiras Renewable Energy Community can serve as an example for the implementation of other projects in Portugal and other European countries.

This publication is in Portuguese.