{"id":1713,"date":"2020-03-08T16:04:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T16:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regalgrid.com\/?post_type=magazine&p=1713"},"modified":"2024-09-25T12:54:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T12:54:34","slug":"what-energy-communities-are-and-how-to-join-the-revolution","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/what-energy-communities-are-and-how-to-join-the-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"What Energy communities are and how to join the revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renewable energy<\/strong>\u00a0is becoming more and more accessible due to the development of generation technology that lowers intrinsic costs. An initial solution was the introduction of\u00a0storage units<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to be connected to photovoltaic systems, allowing energy to be consumed as needed and making energy available irrespective of the time of day or the geographic location.<\/p>\n

But the most effective solution to maximise the usage of energy generated by solar panels is the\u00a0energy-community<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But what are energy communities?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is an energy community?<\/h2>\n

An\u00a0energy community<\/strong>\u00a0is a group of people that share clean energy, in an exchange between equals. Energy communities can therefore be considered as an\u00a0innovative model<\/strong>\u00a0for the production, distribution and consumption of renewable energy. This model is founded on the pursuit of objectives such as\u00a0combating energy wastage<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0sharing a fundamental commodity at a competitive price<\/strong>, by relying on an innovation that is revolutionising the energy market.<\/p>\n

To properly understand these smart communities, we must first grasp the concept of a\u00a0smart grid<\/strong><\/a>. The electricity grid is undergoing a transformation that everyone has experienced in other aspects of daily life:\u00a0digitalisation<\/strong>. The digital world, like the web, allows peer-to-peer\u00a0node-based connections<\/strong>. We have transitioned from a centralised physical grid with one-to-many transmission (the electricity operator supplying energy to our homes) to a\u00a0decentralised digital grid<\/strong>, with one-to-one and many-to-many connections. This is a \u201csmart\u201d grid because, in addition to the necessary metering sensors, it also incorporates complex artificial-intelligence algorithms, allowing individual citizens to take an active role.<\/p>\n

How? Through the\u00a0smart grid<\/strong>, which allows each individual to become part of an energy community: owners of a photovoltaic system connected to the grid (prosumers) can share their excess energy with other consumers. Anybody can join one of these communities that share clean energy, reducing energy wastage and lowering both their bills and their carbon footprint.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The members of an energy community<\/h2>\n

What are the requirements to join an energy community?<\/p>\n

Whether you live in an apartment or in a detached or semi-detached house, if you wish to play an active role in the energy revolution, you will need a\u00a0photovoltaic system with a storage unit<\/strong><\/a>. Otherwise, you can be involved in the energy transition simply as a consumer: all you need is some knowledge of the matter, a controller such as the\u00a0SNOCU from Regalgrid<\/a>, and access to a digital platform for the management of energy communities, such as\u00a0Regalgrid<\/a>\u00a0itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Energy communities in Europe: the RED II Directive<\/h2>\n

The EU Directive, also known as\u00a0RED II<\/strong>, is the result of a European energy movement, and amongst the various regulations on\u00a0energy sustainability<\/strong>\u00a0it also establishes financial support for the generation and self-consumption of electricity from renewables. The directive considers renewable energy as an essential element for a\u00a0fairer and more sustainable energy market<\/strong>\u00a0based on the circular-economy model, which promotes technological innovation alongside environmental, social, health and economic benefits.<\/p>\n

Energy communities are also presented as a current and necessary solution to\u00a0promote<\/strong>\u00a0the generation and consumption of renewable energy. In fact, energy communities are already widespread in some European countries such as the\u00a0UK<\/strong>,\u00a0Spain<\/strong>,\u00a0Greece<\/strong>,\u00a0France<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Germany<\/strong>. They can rely on the support of effective financing and incentive systems, a clear regulatory framework and by raising public awareness.<\/p>\n

The RED II directive also defines the assignment of\u00a0rights to self-consumers<\/strong>\u00a0that join energy communities and also regards this form of networking as a great\u00a0opportunity<\/strong>\u00a0for standard consumers, with a\u00a0reduction in consumption<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0lower costs<\/strong>.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":4361,"parent":0,"template":"","category-magazine":[40],"class_list":["post-1713","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\/1713","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\/1713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4363,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1713\/revisions\/4363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category-magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category-magazine?post=1713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}