The Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) has requested the development, as occurred with Self-Consumption, of a specific Royal Decree that sets the bases for the development of Energy Communities.
In a statement, the employers’ association proposed a “complete” regulatory framework on Energy Communities that “defines the bases and creates a favourable environment for their development, providing legal security, regulatory stability and transparency”.
UNEF has presented a proposal in which it “groups and orders”, after actively listening to all the actors involved, the needs of both the Energy Communities themselves and the companies in the sector that provide them with services.
The general director of the association, José Donoso, considered that in order to develop the full potential of the Energy Communities, “a clear regulatory framework is needed, which guarantees that its members participate on equal terms with the traditional agents of the electricity market and which offers regulatory stability that allows companies to offer their services to these communities”.
UNEF considers that Energy Communities are one of the key tools of a sustainable energy model, because they allow to combine in a single project various activities that contribute to the energy transition, such as self-consumption, building rehabilitation, green mobility or storage. And they do so, in addition, by directly involving citizens, the local economy and city councils in the definition of the project and in decision-making, enabling the benefits to be reinvested in the community and in the localities where they are implemented.
The development of this entire ecosystem offers opportunities for both citizens and companies in the photovoltaic sector, which can offer their services to these Energy Communities, since most of them start with collective self-consumption.
“In order to develop the full potential of Energy Communities, we need a clear regulatory framework that guarantees that their members participate on equal terms with traditional agents in the electricity market and that offers regulatory stability that allows companies to offer their services to these communities,” says José Donoso, General Manager of UNEF.
“We cannot create a disruptive and positive instrument, by actively involving the whole of society in the energy transition, and not give its members support on how to carry it out,” he adds.
A specific Royal Decree to promote Energy Communities
UNEF requests that, as occurred with Self-consumption and that promoted its growth, a specific Royal Decree be developed that sets the bases for the development of Energy Communities, understanding their own characteristics and providing legal certainty, transparency and stability in their development.
To this end, UNEF has brought together the needs of all the actors involved, from the Energy Communities themselves to the companies in the photovoltaic sector that provide them with services, in order to draw up a complete regulatory proposal.
The measures proposed by UNEF are mainly focused on:
· Ensuring the autonomy and effective control of the partners of the Energy Communities: Clearly defining in the regulatory framework when said autonomy and control are breached.
· Encouraging the participation of local entities: To this end, UNEF proposes that they be declared “entities of public interest”, which would help to guarantee participation and promotion by the local councils.
· Ensuring access to financing: For participation to be truly open to citizens, financing cannot be a barrier to entry. For this reason, UNEF proposes, among other measures, tax reductions for those who participate in Energy Communities or who can access the Energy Saving Certificate system as delegated subjects, which would allow them to monetize the energy efficiency of the facilities.
With this initiative, UNEF demonstrates its commitment to Energy Communities as a key element of the energy transition and will continue working to incorporate the challenges and needs of all the actors involved.
