On Monday 9 March, on the eve of the presentation of the energy package by the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors highlighted the shortcomings of the framework put in place at EU level to develop energy communities, bringing together citizens, local authorities and small businesses in the generation, management and sharing of their own energy.
The new audit, carried out in Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania, anticipates the provisions on energy communities in the Citizens Energy Package, one of the three texts expected in Tuesday’s energy package (see other news).
Ten years ago, the EU predicted that, by 2030, these energy communities, which can take the form of solar panels on shared roofs or jointly-owned wind turbines, could provide 17% of wind energy generation capacity, and even 21% for solar energy. The ambition was too great, according to the Court, which calculates that the energy communities could end up holding just 4% of this solar and wind capacity.
The auditors also point out that, in January 2025, only 27% of the EU’s objective of having at least one energy community based on renewable energy per municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants had been achieved.
More broadly, it is “legal fog” that is highlighted, with European definitions deemed to be unclear on how to structure an energy community, share the electricity it generates or sell the surplus.
In the Court’s view, this concern is particularly acute in the case of residential buildings, where the addition of a new legal entity on top of existing owners’ associations gives rise to fears of “another layer of red tape”, according to a press release.
This is without taking into account the slowdown in projects due to delays or refusals to connect new facilities.
In particular, the auditors recommend combining new renewable energy projects with flexibility services, such as storage, to balance supply and demand in real time and reduce grid congestion.
In a response sent to the press, the Commission said that it endorsed the above recommendations and would follow them up as part of the ‘Citizens Energy Package’, “paying particular attention to guaranteeing inclusion and access to energy communities for all”.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/l3d (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)