Riccardo Trevisan

The European energy transition process is geared toward improving the economic viability of the energy sector through its democratization, which includes enabling citizens to generate, share, and sell energy produced by renewable sources. The current directives have led to the creation of energy communities and collective self-consumption groups to engage and raise awareness among citizens, with the goal of achieving social, economic, and environmental benefits through shared renewable energy generation and consumption. In the near future, more and more of these initiatives are anticipated; therefore, innovative technological tools are necessary to assist their growth path. This research introduces a multi-criteria techno-economic simulation framework that enables the evaluation of several investment scenarios for various plant sizes and energy prices. The findings are useful during the investment planning phase as they help guide decision-making toward the objectives of economic, energy, and environmental sustainability. To evaluate the methodology, a case study of a collective self-consumption group located in a smart building in Italy is proposed. The results are discussed from statistical, technical, economic, and financial standpoints, demonstrating how the proposed approach can contribute to the development of collective self-consumption groups, risk hedging, and the goal of developing energy self-sufficiency based on the net-zero energy building concept.

Renewable energy communities, first outlined in the European Directives and recently transposed into the Italian regulatory framework, are introduced as innovative entities capable of fostering cooperation between active and passive users involved in the production, sharing, and use of locally produced energy according to innovative management schemes. Renewable energy communities empower the end-customers. Citizens and legal entities are committed to a rational and economical use of energy to achieve the community’s climate neutrality goals and pursue the ecological and energy transition objectives defined in the national recovery and resilience plan. In the future, a significant number of energy communities different actors participating from the residential, industrial, commercial, and tertiary sectors are expected to develop within city districts or in suburban settings. This paper proposes and develops a methodology capable of bridging the complexity that can characterise the prototyping, implementation, and management of an energy community within a positive energy district. The approach presented here can also be extended to other application contexts in urban or rural settings. Requirements and best practices for administrative, technical, and technological management have been identified to achieve this goal. Italy is one of the first states to embed in its regulatory framework the European Directives regarding renewable energy communities. These will have a significant impact on network management models and will provide new ways for creating social inclusion that may help achieve climate sustainability goals. A governance model has been formalised for the empowerment of energy community members, outlining a framework useful for planning the proper implementation of a renewable energy community according to current Italian regulations.

The implementation of energy efficiency interventions and development of renewable energy systems in marinas can lead to significant impacts on energy consumption and a contribution to the decarbonization of the electricity system. Such places in fact have widespread electrically driven moorings and services at the dock, such as hoisting systems, slipways, and other power distribution systems to power boats, which seasonally lead to significant energy consumption. In this context, the authors have developed a technical and economic analysis related to the size optimization of renewable power generation systems and storage associated with the development of a renewable energy port community regulated under Italian law. The technologies used for the development of the energy production infrastructure and the options for the optimal electrical management of energy consumption in the port are illustrated, highlighting the economic benefits for the energy community.

Italy’s first renewable energy community, located in the municipality of Magliano Alpi, was established under Italian Law 8/2020 on Energy Communities in December 2020. The community is composed of eight stakeholders and involves, in addition to public buildings in the municipality of Magliano Alpi, some residential users and small and medium-sized enterprises, realizing public–private cooperation aimed at reducing energy dependence on the public grid and, at the same time, contributing to the decarbonization of the energy sector. This article provides an analysis of the economic and energy performance during the first year of renewable community piloting. The study analyzes data collected with the community energy management system and introduces a number of key performance indices useful for evaluating further development and optimization options.

Energy communities have been defined in recent European directives and are being integrated into the Italian regulatory framework. They present themselves as an innovative entity in the national and international energy landscape capable of contributing to the energy transition process through locally produced energy, its self-consumption and sharing with energy community users. Local energy communities are considered an empowerment tool for end users who take charge of the distributed production and management of the energy asset, but in order for the energy asset to be put to its best, most efficient and effective use, it is necessary to develop key performance indices that are also easily understood by community members, whether they are elderly, young people, private companies, public entities, etc., and to which it is immediate to react with proactive behaviour in order to maximize their economic benefits, which, of course, translate locally into environmental and social benefits. In this context, the manuscript presents some performance indices that can be used to achieve the above goals. An energy community case study is discussed to show the purpose and usefulness of the proposed metrics.

Marinas have widespread moorings and services at the dock, such as lifting systems, slips, and power distribution systems needed to feed boats, which seasonally involve significant energy consumption. In this context, the authors, aware of the benefits associated with the implementation of energy efficiency interventions in such locations, have developed a technical and economic analysis related to the development of a renewable energy pport community. The paper describes the main technical and economic characteristics of this energy community, illustrating the Italian legislation, the technologies used for the electricity optimal management of energy consumption in ports, and the economic benefits to the energy community.