Community energy in action across Europe

Have a look at the new LocalRES collection of good practices, showcasing Energy Communities all over Europe 

Across Europe, citizens, municipalities and local stakeholders are joining forces to produce, share and manage renewable energy locally. Renewable Energy Communities are no longer just an emerging concept: they are becoming practical tools to accelerate the energy transition, strengthen local resilience and give people a more active role in shaping their energy future.

Within this context, a new Collection of Best Practices on Renewable Energy Communities has been released, bringing together inspiring examples from across Europe. The publication aims to support local authorities, practitioners and citizens who want to understand how community energy can work in practice, under different territorial, governance and regulatory conditions. It documents practical and replicable experiences, shows different governance and financing models, and highlights technological and social innovation in the field of local renewable energy.

The collection pays particular attention to the three countries hosting LocalRES demonstration sites: Italy, Spain and Austria, while also including examples from Bulgaria and Greece to broaden the geographical perspective. By combining experiences developed within the project with complementary practices from Energy Cities, LocalRES partners and direct exchanges with energy communities, the publication reflects the diversity of community energy approaches across Europe.

The examples show that Renewable Energy Communities can do much more than install renewable energy technologies. They can help increase local energy autonomy, foster citizen participation, support energy democracy, address energy poverty, contribute to local economic development and boost social inclusion. At the same time, the collection underlines that successful initiatives rely on strong local partnerships, stable governance structures, citizen engagement, appropriate technical solutions and supportive policy frameworks.

The publication lists also the challenges that different type of Energy Communities can face along their path. Regulatory complexity, access to finance, grid constraints and limited technical capacities remain recurring barriers for many local actors. By making concrete experiences more visible and accessible, the collection contributes to building the practical knowledge needed to help municipalities and communities move from interest to implementation.

The collection has been produced in English, Italian, Spanish and German, supporting dissemination in the project countries and helping more local stakeholders engage with the material in their own language.

Developed under the Horizon 2020 LocalRES project, this collection will remain part of the project’s legacy: a practical resource for municipalities, energy communities and citizens working towards decentralised, democratic and renewable energy systems. As Europe advances towards climate neutrality, sharing real-life experiences and enabling peer learning will be essential to scale up community energy across territories.

Download it here:

– English

– Spanish

– Italian

– German