Renewable Energy Communities in Urban Areas: Determining Key Characteristics from an Analysis of European Case Studies

The European Green Deal aims to achieve neutrality in Europe by 2050. To do so, according to the European Commission, Renewable Energy Communities (REC) might be an attractive solution to find the right balance between sustainable and inclusive energy transition and security. Moreover, the central position of citizens as prosumers - instead of solely consumers – allows to reduce inequalities and to include the most vulnerable in the energy sector. This work aims at framing the key characteristics of REC in urban areas by analysing selected case studies located in large European cities (MeerEnergie-Amsterdam, EnerCit’If-Paris, Viertel Zwei-Vienna, Ecopower-Brussels, Energy and Solidarity Community East-Naples, Energent-Ghent, Hyperion-Athens) and to identify and analyse possible measures to be implemented in urban RES considering social, climate and technical impacts. The analysis is performed through a detailed factsheet built up considering the European Commission’s energy transition recommendations, definitions and literature on REC. The collected information on case studies will then be clustered according to three main drivers (technical, climate and social) to make the key characteristics comparable and to understand the trends of each of them in the urban context. The results of this research allow for the identification of twelve measures, which may be considered to set up an urban renewable energy community.