A Novel Community Energy Projects Governance Model and Support Ecosystem Framework Based on Heating and Cooling Projects Enabled by Energy Communities

Anastasios I. Karameros (), Athanasios P. Chassiakos and Theo Tryfonas
Additional contact information
Anastasios I. Karameros: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, University Campus, 26504 Rio, Greece
Athanasios P. Chassiakos: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, University Campus, 26504 Rio, Greece
Theo Tryfonas: School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH, UK

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-33

Abstract: The EU power market system has successfully maintained a centralized governance structure ensuring stable electricity supply and affordable prices for over two decades. However, the ongoing energy transition towards carbon neutrality has exposed critical governance limitations, leading to challenges in community projects implementation. Given that Heating and Cooling (H&C) accounts for more than 50% of the EU’s energy consumption, community H&C initiatives can drive local energy transitions and support renewable integration. This study analyzes the best practices from European community energy initiatives, supplemented by insights from the Energy Leap project. By employing a comparative analysis approach, the study proposes a technically sound and regulatory feasible governance model, alongside a robust ecosystem support framework. The proposed framework introduces new roles and new forms of partnerships between communities—private entities and consumers—taking advantage of the benefits offered by the operation of Energy Communities (ECs), enhancing community engagement and regulatory adaptability. These insights offer practical guidance and contribute to effective policymaking in support of the EU’s energy transition objectives.

Keywords: energy; governance model; energy communities; community energy projects; community heating and cooling; smart infrastructure; business model; support ecosystem framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6571/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6571/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6571-:d:1704701

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().