Abstract
This paper investigates the suitability of the community cooperatives (CC) model for the implementation of renewable energy communities (REC), as prescribed by art. 22 of EU Directive 2018/2001, and temporarily transposed into the Italian law by art. 42-bis of the Law Decree n. 162/2019. The hypothesis explored analyses the potential synergies between RECs and CC, based on their similarities. In particular, the article takes into consideration: the actors involved in both the RECs and the CCs; the geographical scope in which they develop, and the purposes that these two legal forms intended to achieve. Through a literature review and the analysis of EU, national and regional legislations, the paper aims at (1) clarifying the main features of RECs and the CCs in Italy; (2) exploring the main differences between CCs and the other legal forms of cooperative (e.g., mutual cooperative, cooperative benefit, etc.) and assessing the extent to which CCs are more suitable to implement renewable energy communities. As a result of the literature and regulatory review, several similarities between CCs and RECs can be detected, particularly, in reference to the strategic valorization of the cooperation between citizens and the local public entities. These similarities allow the authors to provisionally conclude that, in Italy, CCs may be adopted as a tool to implement RECs.
Highlights
The article takes into consideration: the actors involved in both the renewable energy communities (REC) and the community cooperatives (CC); the geographical scope in which they develop, and the purposes that these two legal forms intended to achieve
Energy communities are considered as a feasible solution to help to increase public acceptance on renewable energy projects and to attract investments and two directives, out of the eight that compose the Clean Energy Package, contain regulatory provisions aimed at ruling energy communities: the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (2018/2001) and the Directive on common rules for the internal market for electricity (2019/944)
Mulgan et al define this social phenomenon as “innovative activities and services that are motivated by the goal of satisfying a social need and are mainly developed and disseminated through organizations whose primary goals are social” [49,50], whereas Polman et al have suggested a direct link between the role of social innovation and the role of civil society, stating that “social innovation refers to the reconfiguration of social practices in response to societal challenges, with the aim of improving the well-being of society, through the commitment of the actors who are part of civil society” [51]
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The second most populated country in EU, France, in 2015 adopted the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth (LTECV), that for the first time introduced specific measures, the so-called “participatory bonuses”, to promote the development and participation of local citizens in renewable energy projects. The law amended the Code of the Energy by introducing the REC as disciplined by the EU legislator They are described as autonomous legal entities characterized by: the open and voluntary participation; the effective control by the shareholders that have to live nearby the renewable energy plant; the shareholders could be natural persons as well as municipalities, small-medium enterprises and local authorities; the final goal of the community is to produce environmental, social and economic benefits rather than just financial profits. The legal framework does not specify any further details to effectively support the development of energy communities [27]
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