Local communities on the energy issue
A Renewable Energy Community (REC) is an association made up of different entities that work together to produce, share and consume renewable energy locally. Entities that can be included in a REC are citizens, local governments and authorities, including municipal governments, cooperatives, research organizations, religious organizations, third sector and environmental protection organizations and SMEs.
RECs aim to promote energy self-sufficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase environmental awareness among community members. These communities can independently produce clean energy (solar, wind, biomass and other renewable energy plants), reducing energy costs while generating new economic opportunities on a local basis.
TerrAria acts as a supply chain coordinator, supporting different entities in establishing a REC that meets the needs of the area and has also developed dedicated decision support software for the feasibility of RECs and its subsequent management.
In Italy, RECs are incentivized through various legislative and financial measures. The “Milleproroghe” Decree of 2020 introduced specific incentives for energy communities, such as subsidized rates for shared energy and non-repayable grants for the construction of production facilities.
Among others, the Lombardy Region is actively promoting RECs with the approval of Regional Law No. 2 of Feb. 23, 2022 and by establishing the Lombardy Regional Energy Community, which is responsible for implementing a monitoring system aimed at disseminating best practices and collecting useful elements for the promotion and encouragement of RECs.
