Energy Communities: Technical, Legislative, Organizational, and Planning Features

Roberto De Lotto, Calogero Micciché, Elisabetta M. Venco, Angelo Bonaiti and Riccardo De Napoli
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Roberto De Lotto: DICAr—Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Calogero Micciché: Faculty of Law, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milano, Italy
Elisabetta M. Venco: DICAr—Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Angelo Bonaiti: Faculty of Law, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milano, Italy
Riccardo De Napoli: Faculty of Law, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milano, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: Worldwide, the use of fossil fuels covers almost 80% of the entire energy needs. In the European Union (EU), 2020 represents a watershed: for the first time, renewables were the main source of electricity. In Italy, the latest surveys demonstrate an increase in the use of alternative energy sources. European legislative framework highlights the importance of these new trends encouraging (and imposing) the use of renewables. The necessity to become more proactive in the energy production–consumption process and in the achievement of sustainability targets brings people to create Energy Communities (ECs) to manage their own energy supply chain. The authors present an overview of the main legislative framework in the EU and Italy in relation to ECs, analyzing the energy consumption, the electricity and heat energy production potentiality, and the energy balance in a portion of an Italian middle-size city in the Milan metropolitan area. Moreover, they underline the technical, regulatory, and planning possibilities to achieve energy independence, exchanging energy among the selected urban district when there is a surplus in production. Lastly, the authors underline the strengths and barriers to the development of ECs.

Keywords: energy community; energy island; renewable energy; urban planning; legislative framework; urban policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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