Empowering Citizens for Energy Communities in the European Union

In the face of the pressing global environmental and social challenges, it's imperative to chart pathways towards sustainable development. The European Union faces significant environmental challenges, and energy community solutions have emerged as a promising avenue to address these problems and foster sustainable energy transition. Acknowledging the need of addressing global concerns locally, the transition to decentralized energy systems emerges as a critical step forward. However, ensuring a prosperous and fair energy transition relies not solely on technological progress but also on fostering participatory decision-making processes. This study explores the concept of energy communities as mechanisms for promoting citizen engagement in sustainability policy by examining their legal and policy frameworks, different models, motivations, and barriers to citizen participation. A comprehensive review of the existing literature has also identified the positive impacts of energy communities. In addition, the crucial factors that enable citizen empowerment are explored, including interaction patterns, incentives for participation, and potential hurdles. The conclusions shed light on the importance of fostering citizen participation in sustainable energy transitions as models that shape effective policy actions to enhance energy transitions and promote more sustainable societies.