{"id":1573,"date":"2020-07-14T21:42:33","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T21:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regalgrid.com\/magazine\/lartigiano-nuovo-promotore-di-energy-community\/"},"modified":"2024-09-25T13:12:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:12:02","slug":"the-artisan-new-promoter-of-energy-community","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/the-artisan-new-promoter-of-energy-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Artisans advocating the energy-community model"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, the\u00a0challenges<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0working as an artisan<\/strong>\u00a0can be approached in various ways. Whether you run a graphic-design studio or a car wash, whether you are a tattooist, restorer or beauty technician or practice one of the many other\u00a0professions included in the register of artisan businesses<\/strong>, your\u00a0challenge<\/strong>\u00a0also involves an area that perhaps you hadn’t considered until now:\u00a0energy<\/strong>, and in particular\u00a0energy communities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Of course, it may not be the first thing that comes to mind in this period of great upheaval. All artisan businesses, particularly those that need to be\u00a0open to the public<\/strong>, will certainly be working hard at the moment to align their daily activities with\u00a0new public health laws<\/strong>, guaranteeing precision without being excessively invasive. Social distancing of employees, personal-protection measures, barriers at tills, reception areas and front-office, and clear entry and exit routes: these have all become essential considerations to keep your business open in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0challenge\u00a0<\/strong>shared by all businesses is the\u00a0economic<\/strong>\u00a0question: how can we recover lost income for the first quarter of 2020? Even for those that continued working during the quarantine, with the exception of the health sector, profits were hugely affected by the unrelenting domino effect that was seen throughout all markets. In some cases, businesses are unable to sell and workers are not being paid. Even more so than before. And this is a difficult problem to solve, yet nothing is impossible. Identifying the most appropriate strategy requires delicate balancing of income and outgoings. This balance is threatened by unforgiving fixed costs.<\/p>\n

But why is this relevant here? Because\u00a0energy is a fixed cost<\/strong>, even though there is a variable component depending on the type of business. Artisan enterprise, which represents the\u00a0heart of Italy’s business fabric<\/strong>, thus takes on a central role in the energy revolution. How? The answer is clear: it’s in the title.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s go step by step.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why should artisans use solar power?<\/h2>\n

The real question we should ask is \u201cwhy not?\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0The benefits can be seen across the board, from economic savings through to a positive environmental contribution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reducing environmental impacts<\/h2>\n

The most evident factor is a\u00a0reduction in the environmental impacts<\/strong>\u00a0of your business, allowing you to contribute to the\u00a0achievement of national targets<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0renewable energy<\/strong>\u00a0consumption, setting an example for other companies in your area and also for your employees and customers. The decision to switch to renewables is increasingly recognised for its positive effect on\u00a0awareness of environmental issues<\/strong>, leading to a return in the form of\u00a0positive image\u00a0<\/strong>for your business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

State incentives for SMEs<\/h2>\n

Another important and evident factor is related to\u00a0economic savings<\/strong>: solar power is first and foremost cost-effective thanks to\u00a0incentives\u00a0<\/strong>for businesses. Current\u00a0legislation<\/strong>\u00a0strongly supports installation of photovoltaic systems, promoting recovery and a more sustainable approach to consumption in line with the\u00a0National Energy and Climate Plan<\/strong>\u00a0(PNIEC) and the European\u00a0Clean Energy Package<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lower bills<\/h2>\n

As we have mentioned, energy is a fixed cost for businesses: switching to solar power means producing the energy you consume, achieving\u00a060%<\/strong>\u00a0self-consumption<\/strong>\u00a0with the support of\u00a0storage systems<\/strong><\/a>. This allows you to\u00a0cut your bill<\/strong>\u00a0through a significant reduction in\u00a0energy costs<\/strong>. This advantage is the most immediate and the most visible, although initially it will simply offset the\u00a0cost of the system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exploiting excess energy<\/h2>\n

Next, we have to consider that\u00a0energy that is not consumed<\/strong>\u00a0is used for services by the national operator, via tariffs paying producers for energy fed back into the national grid. However, in terms of energy that is not instantaneously self-consumed, there is another solution available to all artisans connected to the low-voltage grid, one which we have been championing as it represents the future of the energy sector:\u00a0energy communities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why should artisans join energy communities?<\/h2>\n

Because\u00a0energy communities<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are the emblem of\u00a0true and complete sustainability from an environmental, social and economic perspective,<\/strong>\u00a0offering benefits for all parties involved. In other words, being a member of an energy community, along with residential users and other commercial users, amplifies the benefits described above. Participation in a community through use of a\u00a0SNOCU<\/strong>\u00a0also provides a\u00a0detailed picture of your consumption<\/strong>\u00a0and habits (your\u00a0energy profile<\/strong>) which is balanced against those of other members by Regalgrid’s algorithm. In the specific case of artisans, acting as producers, consumers and storers of clean energy within an energy community (a figure we refer to as a\u00a0proconstomer<\/em><\/strong>) means taking on a very comprehensive role that supports the balance of the community. In any case, this also offers the possibility of\u00a0reducing fixed costs<\/strong>\u00a0for energy and\u00a0further cutting your bill<\/strong>, as well as\u00a0reducing waste associated with the transport of energy<\/strong>, keeping energy flows within a local-grid range.<\/p>\n

In addition, this new form of collective and distributed self-consumption represents a decentralised energy model that also supports interconnected grid users in the event of energy crises.<\/p>\n

Certainly, the\u00a0advantages<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for an artisan are generally very similar to those for\u00a0domestic users<\/strong>\u00a0but there is one significant\u00a0difference<\/strong>. Artisans act as\u00a0hubs for interconnections<\/strong>\u00a0within society, having\u00a0vast networks of contacts<\/strong>\u00a0and they are one of the categories that people look to for guidance and advice. Artisans therefore have the capacity to become\u00a0advocates of the energy revolution<\/strong>\u00a0simply by raising awareness of the\u00a0benefits<\/strong>\u00a0that they achieve thanks to clean energy shared through\u00a0energy communities<\/strong>. The shared, digital energy revolution is here: don\u2019t shout it from the rooftops, but from the doorway of your workshop!<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":4353,"parent":0,"template":"","category-magazine":[40],"class_list":["post-1573","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-energy-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4355,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1573\/revisions\/4355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category-magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category-magazine?post=1573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}