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Three case studies to explore relevant features of emerging renewable energy communities in Italy

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  • Musolino, Monica
  • Maggio, Gaetano
  • D'Aleo, Erika
  • Nicita, Agatino

Abstract

The number and importance of renewable energy communities (RECs) are increasing in all European countries due to the support of EU and national policies in order to foster the energy transition through participatory strategies for distributed energy systems. However, their development is rather slow in some countries, including Italy. The paper addressed the issue of the emergence of these socio-technical configurations in Italy, after the related law which entered into force in 2020 allowing the possibility of creating them. Our study focused on the alliances among different actors (professionals, institutions, NGOs, citizens) highlighting possible trends or models for the future that need to be confirmed in further research. The approach proposed to analyse this current process is the Actor-Network Theory, aiming at drawing the assemblages of human and non-human actants at a general level. Accordingly, we selected three case studies in order to show their different ways of organising, the relevance of trust in establishing each REC and the influence of local context on the composition and features of the actor-networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Musolino, Monica & Maggio, Gaetano & D'Aleo, Erika & Nicita, Agatino, 2023. "Three case studies to explore relevant features of emerging renewable energy communities in Italy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 540-555.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:210:y:2023:i:c:p:540-555
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.04.094
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    2. Andrea Sarcina & Rubina Canesi, 2023. "Renewable Energy Community: Opportunities and Threats towards Green Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Julien Lemaire & Rui Castro & Fátima Montemor, 2024. "Empowering Remote and Off-Grid Renewable Energy Communities: Case Studies in Congo, Australia, and Canada," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Dong, Fuxiang & Wang, Jiangjiang & Xu, Hangwei & Zhang, Xutao, 2024. "A robust real-time energy scheduling strategy of integrated energy system based on multi-step interval prediction of uncertainties," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    5. Corsini, Alessandro & Delibra, Giovanni & Pizzuti, Isabella & Tajalli-Ardekani, Erfan, 2023. "Challenges of renewable energy communities on small Mediterranean islands: A case study on Ponza island," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    6. Luca Brunelli & Emiliano Borri & Anna Laura Pisello & Andrea Nicolini & Carles Mateu & Luisa F. Cabeza, 2024. "Thermal Energy Storage in Energy Communities: A Perspective Overview through a Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Almendra Awerkin & Paolo Falbo & Tiziano Vargiolu, 2023. "Optimal Investment and Fair Sharing Rules of the Incentives for Renewable Energy Communities," Papers 2311.12055, arXiv.org.
    8. Riccardo Trevisan & Mara Ladu & Emilio Ghiani & Ginevra Balletto, 2024. "Achieving Net Zero Condominiums through Energy Community Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-28, March.
    9. Simona Barbaro & Grazia Napoli, 2023. "Energy Communities in Urban Areas: Comparison of Energy Strategy and Economic Feasibility in Italy and Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Pagnini, Luisa & Bracco, Stefano & Delfino, Federico & de-Simón-Martín, Miguel, 2024. "Levelized cost of electricity in renewable energy communities: Uncertainty propagation analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    11. Laura Martiniello & Andrea Presciutti, 2024. "Implementation Models of RECs in Public-Private Partnerships: The Distribution of Risks and Benefits among the Participants in the Operation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Pariman Boostani & Giuseppe Pellegrini-Masini & Jørgen Klein, 2024. "The Role of Community Energy Schemes in Reducing Energy Poverty and Promoting Social Inclusion: A Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-29, July.

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