Energy communities, often called Renewable Energy Communities (CER) in Italy, are groups of citizens, businesses, civil society organizations, or local authorities that produce, share, and consume renewable energy locally (for example, from photovoltaics).
The main advantages are various and concern the economy, the environment and society.
Savings on your bill
One of the most immediate benefits is reduced energy costs. Energy shared within the community is valued and often incentivized, allowing members to pay less than if they purchased energy entirely from the grid.
Economic incentives
In Italy, renewable energy sources (CERs) can access public incentives (managed, for example, by the GSE), which remunerate collectively self-consumed energy. This makes investing in renewable energy plants more cost-effective.
Environmental benefits
Energy communities promote the production of energy from renewable sources (such as solar and wind), reducing CO₂ emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
Greater energy autonomy
Producing energy locally means being less exposed to energy price fluctuations and international crises. In practice, it increases the region's energy security.
Benefits for the electricity grid
Local self-consumption reduces peak demand on the national grid, improving the stability and efficiency of the electricity system.
Social and territorial impact
CERs strengthen collaboration between citizens, municipalities, and businesses. They often also generate indirect benefits, such as local investments, the fight against energy poverty, and increased environmental awareness.
At present, according to updated data from the GSE (Energy Services Manager), over 900 energy communities were active in Italy as of 31 December 2025, involving over 18 thousand people and representing an installed power of approximately 174,5 MW.
Index of topics
What are
Energy communities (ECs) are made up of groups of people (citizens, public bodies and businesses) who, instead of simply consuming energy , actively contribute to producing, distributing and sharing it, collaborating with each other.
What is the goal? To provide affordable renewable energy to its members, combat energy waste, and reduce CO2 emissions. Users who not only consume but also participate in the energy production process are called prosumers.
Community management is the responsibility of citizens because the law prohibits communities from turning into profit-making enterprises.
How are they constituted?
To create an energy community, it's important to understand that it must provide environmental, economic, and social benefits to the community, and that prosumers cannot earn their primary income from it but must have other sources of income. Anyone can join, but prosumer systems must meet certain requirements, namely, they cannot exceed a total power of 200 kW and must be activated after the Milleproroghe Decree comes into force. The various community members must sign a contract.
Given these premises, a suitable location must be found for installing the systems and other people must be involved in sharing the energy . The energy community can then be created , which requires, among other things, the signing of a private law contract . The systems must then be built, which must meet certain requirements, and incentives must be applied for .
Thanks to energy communities, it is possible to install a photovoltaic system on the condominium roof so that all the apartments belonging to the community can share the energy they produce, resulting in significant savings on the bill.
Benefits
The advantages are mainly the following:
environmental because the energy is produced from renewable sources, so there are fewer CO₂ emissions and other gases
economic thanks to the various tax benefits active incentive mechanisms. Not to mention that the more you self-consume, the lower the costs of the variable components of your bill.
Energy communities in Italy
Currently in Italy there are 154 energy communities for the production, self-consumption, and sale of clean energy. According to a study by the Milan Polytechnic, by 2035, energy communities In Italy, there will be 40,000 of them, involving 1.2 million families, 200,000 offices, and 10,000 businesses. From north to south, there are numerous Italian energy communities. An example of this is the San Giovanni a Teduccio renewable energy community, Naples, or that of San Lazzaro, in the province of Bologna, created thanks to the commitment of citizens. And the self-sustaining energy community of Borutta, in Sardinia.
Energy communities vary greatly in size. In Val Trompia, in the province of Brescia, an energy community was formed thanks to an alliance of twelve municipalities; in Genoa, residents of a neighborhood gathered together around the power plant of a large pizzeria; in Cagliari, a residents' association, with the support of the municipal administration, created an energy community centered around a nursery school.
The true champion of Energy Communities in Italy is Matteo Leonardi, a Milanese, director of Ecco Climate, a think tank that focuses on low-cost, high-tech energy policies. Leonardi's electricity supplier in Milan is the E'nostra cooperative, which has created an energy community. It essentially opened a fund with subscriptions from its member-customers, and each has contributed their share in proportion to the capacity of the renewable energy plants built. In exchange for their contributions, E'nostra families receive a fixed, discounted amount of energy, and the cooperative can only change the rate once a year. The result: Leonardi, who has created a balcony photovoltaic system, stabilized his bill at 36 euros.
Energy communities in Tuscany
Tuscany is the first Italian region to have approved, virtually unanimously, a regional law to promote and simplify the creation of energy communities in the region. In addition to allocating certain resources, these provisions should greatly simplify the process for establishing an energy community in Tuscany.
Energy communities in Lazio
In Fiumicino, six agricultural companies have joined forces to create an energy community and produce energy from renewable sources. The project has the scientific support of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University and will strengthen the Biodistrict's activities in the area. As for the capital, the Rome city government intends to create an energy community for each municipality in the city.
Energy communities in Piedmont
The Parish of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in the heart of the working-class Vallette neighborhood on the outskirts of Turin, has successfully created its own Energy Community, starting from the bottom up, within the parish community, to reduce the energy bills of local families. Thanks in part to the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, the former parish priest, Father Roberto, has successfully installed a 20 kWp photovoltaic system on the church roof. This means that each of the families in need, identified by the parish, will receive €180 per year, which will go a long way in lowering their energy bills.
Energy communities in Liguria
In Quiliano and Vado Ligure, Liguria, a group of companies created their own Energy Community, with a photovoltaic system consisting of 1.800 panels, installed on the roofs owned by Tirreno Power, the company promoting the project.
Energy communities in Sardinia
In Cagliari, the city administration has launched a pilot project that will provide energy to 40 school buildings. The Energy Community of Piazza Medaglia Miracolosa in Cagliari provides energy to low-income families living in the neighborhood.
Energy communities in Umbria
In the municipality of Gubbio, in the province of Perugia, a project is underway to create Italy's first energy community using renewable energy produced by a wind farm.
Financing
To understand how many opportunities there are, even for private citizens, to create energy communities, with the related advantages, it is necessary to keep in mind that the PNRR has already allocated two billion and 200 million to set up in municipalities with fewer than five thousand inhabitants. Which could have a turning point in terms of competitiveness and quality of life for their communities.
Energy communities in Europe
According to forecasts by ResCoop, the association of 1.900 energy cooperatives from 22 EU countries, half of the European population—220 million people—could self-produce renewable energy in the coming years. This would reduce utility bills, reduce imports, and reduce pollution. The growth of energy communities in Europe is impressive. To name just a few examples, there are 1750 in Germany, 700 in Denmark, 500 in the Netherlands, and 420 in the United Kingdom.
