CTO Assessment - European Commission

Towards
Sustainable
Energy Communities
Energy options are often the core of
both the development model and
each community’s strengthening capacity.
In the case of RES, choice
does not depend exclusively on the
degree of technological maturity,
market conditions, or tax policies,
but there are other factors also involved,
such as involvement of actors,
management and partnership
capability, decision model, and
proximity to energy solutions of each
community’s specific requirements
and possibilities.
Within the framework of the different
solutions based on renewables
featuring the “100% Communities”
idea included in the Campaign, energy
resources and supply, beside
being characterised by thermal and
electric vectors, they also, seeing it
as a service, emphasise aspects of
energy security and quality, and especially
the possibilities to
strengthen the endogenous development
capacities of each community.
Renewable Energy projects are close
to the final energy consumer and in
the course of the implementation of
the Campaign they developed close
links with sectors such as agriculture,
tourism, clean transport, or
water production. A proximity that
is now creating new prospectives
with better quality of life and environment,
respecting each community’s
means and features.
There is a large variety of communities
differing in terms of size, population
density, living standards, climatic
conditions, building styles,
cultural patterns, resource availability
and, of course, energy system
characteristics. The characteristics
for local, regional (including rural
areas), city, or islands communities
are important to understand in order
to increase successful RES showcases
and increase possibilities of
their replication.
RE Communities
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