Energy communities enable collective and citizen-driven energy actions to support the clean energy transition.
They can contribute to increasing public acceptance of renewable energy projects and make it easier to attract private investments in the clean energy transition. Energy communities can be an effective means of re-structuring our energy systems, by empowering citizens to drive the energy transition locally and directly benefit from better energy efficiency, lower bills, reduced energy poverty and more local green job opportunities.
Recognising the potential contribution of energy communities in achieving a more secure, affordable and cleaner energy system for Europe, the REPowerEU Plan put forward the shared political objective of achieving 1 energy community per municipality with a population of more than 10 000 by 2025.
According to the 10th State of the Energy Union report, published in November 2025, more than 8 000 energy communities exist across the EU.
Energy communities allow local communities to join forces and invest in clean energy. Acting as a single entity means energy communities can access all suitable energy markets on a level-playing field with other market actors.
Under EU law, energy communities can take the form of any legal entity including an association, a cooperative, a partnership, a non-profit organisation or a limited liability company.
The Affordable Energy Action Plan recognises energy communities as a key solution for accessing affordable renewable energy, emphasising the need to strengthen these initiatives so that local communities, citizens and companies can collectively invest in clean energy projects at local level and produce, sell and consume their own renewable energy.
In this context, the Commission urges EU countries and regions, when reprogramming under the mid-term review of the Cohesion Policy, to contribute to the Affordable Energy Action Plan by supporting the development of energy communities and strengthening support for collective and citizen-driven energy actions, for example through increased administrative capacities to provide technical and financial advice.
To further support citizens in joining an energy community, action 5 of the Citizens Energy Package focuses on boosting energy self-production and energy sharing among citizens, with a strong emphasis on energy communities.
Initiatives for energy communities
The European Parliament provided funding for 2 projects that have contributed to the promotion of best practices and provided technical assistance for the development of concrete energy community initiatives across the EU. To inspire energy communities to further innovate and improve, the Commission launched a prize under Horizon Europe in December 2025.
Renewable Energy Community Prize
The Renewable Energy Community Prize celebrates European communities that are shaping new ways of organising and governing their collective energy future.
The Prize will honour 10 outstanding energy communities that have developed creative, inclusive, and effective governance models. The initiative recognises approaches that promote fair participation, transparency and collaboration, supporting resilient, citizen-led energy systems for a sustainable European future.
Energy communities with up to 10 000 members are welcome to apply by 25 June 2026.
The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub is a Commission initiative designed to promote a bottom-up approach to the energy transition across the EU to enhance citizen participation in the energy transition and strengthen the social dimension of the Energy Union.
As Europe moves towards a more decentralised and decarbonised energy system, the Advisory Hub serves as a key resource to help local communities, citizens, municipalities and small businesses use their own renewable energy and reduce or shift their energy demand in order to control their energy bills.
The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub’s activities accelerate the implementation of EU legislation, support EU countries in creating conditions for the democratisation of Europe's energy system, and build capacity for a range of stakeholders, including energy communities.
This is exemplified by the delivery of direct technical assistance to 120 selected citizen energy initiatives, helping them plan, develop or scale sustainable energy projects. Other activities include developing resources, providing networking opportunities and facilitating local dialogues with citizens around the energy transition.
Support Service for Citizen-led renovation
The support service for Citizen-led renovation is a Commission initiative aiming to empower energy communities and put citizens in the driver’s seat for energy-saving renovation projects.
The first pilot phase of this initiative demonstrated the relevance of the concept as a complementary and bottom-up approach to increase the pace and depth of energy renovations. It also highlighted the importance of developing more inclusive outreach strategies, expanding peer-learning networks, and strengthening the complementarity between one-stop shops and citizen-led renovation collectives. Furthermore, it demonstrated the need to explore economies of scale, for example through grouped purchases, and identified barriers to the concept, such as legal liability.
A new phase began in early 2025, focusing on emerging energy communities and similar organisations, where citizen engagement and collaboration can drive building renovation and urban regeneration projects.
A group of 'enablers', established across EU countries, will collaborate with citizens to create a favourable environment for scaling up citizen-led renovation collectives and provide support to facilitate the implementation of energy renovation projects.
Pilot projects 2022 - 2024
The Energy Communities Repository was launched in April 2022 and ended in January 2024. Its objective was to assist local actors and citizens willing to set up a Citizens Energy Community or a Renewable Energy Community in an urban area, through technical and administrative advice, to encourage their development.
The initiative identified enabling and supporting frameworks for renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities, as defined in the Renewable Energy Directive and in the Internal Electricity Market Directive. It also conducted analysis and impact assessments of energy communities, as well as best practices and know-how for local authorities, businesses, citizens and citizen organisations that wished to set up energy communities, in particular in EU countries that did not yet have a strong tradition of such initiatives.
The projects that benefitted from this initiative were primarily urban energy communities in eastern European countries, such as Latvijas Energokopiena (Latvia), Energetska zadruga Drenova (Croatia) and izgrei bg (Bulgaria).
Consult ECR reports, maps, case studies
The ECR videos and event recordings are available in the DG Energy playlist ‘Energy communities’ on YouTube.
The Rural Energy Community Advisory Hub was launched in June 2022 and ended in March 2024.
The initiative focused on assisting citizens, rural actors and local authorities in setting up a Citizen Energy Community or Renewable Energy Community in rural areas through technical and administrative advice and encouraging their development. Its key activities included
- the identification of best practices concerning support frameworks for rural energy community projects, with close involvement of local authorities
- providing technical assistance to selected rural energy communities
- providing networking opportunities to local stakeholders
The advisory hub can be seen as an extension of the Energy Communities Repository and the Covenant of Mayors, with a special focus on accelerating the development of energy communities in close collaboration with local authorities in rural areas.
The data collected through this initiative constitutes a very important source of information for the European institutions and national, regional and local authorities and relevant stakeholders as it contributes to the identification and dissemination of best practices and know-how for local authorities in particular, as well as businesses, farmers and citizens that wish to set up rural energy communities.
LIFE-CET sub-programme
For the past decade, the sub-programme has supported the development of energy communities in Europe and piloted enabling frameworks at the municipal and regional levels. Overall, they have helped more than 400 energy communities implement different business models, from RES generation to heating and cooling or building renovation. In recent years, the programme has supported the cooperation between energy communities and local and regional authorities to implement more than 50 local services that help citizens develop and scale up energy community projects. The 2025 LIFE CET call closed on 23 September 2025 and included a call topic focused on the development of support services for energy communities.
European Energy Communities Facility
The European Energy Communities Facility aims to empower and support the development of energy communities across Europe. Launched in September 2024, and set to run until February 2028, the project builds on the successful experiences of the Energy Communities Repository, the Rural Energy Communities Advisory Hub, and the European City Facility. By distributing small lump-sum grants, it will assist at least 140 energy communities in developing and implementing solid business plans for their renewable energy projects. The calls will be open to energy communities from any EU country, as well as Iceland, Ukraine, Moldova and North Macedonia.
The facility will also deliver targeted training and hands-on capacity building to help local initiatives develop their projects and implement replicable business models that ensure long-term sustainability.
Backed by EU Legislation
Through the Clean energy for all Europeans package, adopted in 2019, the EU introduced the concept of energy communities into legislation for the first time, notably as citizen energy communities and renewable energy communities.
Since then, legislation on energy communities has been further strengthened by new or revised EU rules.
Adopted in 2023, the amending Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2023/2413 enables EU countries to promote energy communities in offshore wind and district heating and cooling networks. To mainstream renewable energies in buildings, countries may also decide to promote cooperation with local authorities through public procurement. These rules build on those already established in 2018 under the revised Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001.
Energy communities also benefit from simplified registration processes and reduced registration fees for guarantees of origin. In May 2024, the Commission adopted recommendations and guidance documents on renewables permitting and support schemes, calling on national governments to ease permitting procedures and requirements (including for grid connections) for energy communities.
In addition to introducing policy measures to achieve energy saving obligations, the recast Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires local heating plans to assess the potential of energy communities to develop renewable energy-based heating projects.
Meanwhile, the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2024/1275 requires that building renovation plans report on the role of energy communities. It also recognises renewable energy produced by an energy community as a possible energy source for zero-emission buildings and requires EU countries to put measures in place to ensure adequate information and training for all relevant market actors including energy communities.
The reform of the EU’s electricity market design clarifies and reinforces the right of energy communities to share energy between its members or shareholders. More specifically, the Directive on common rules for the internal electricity market (EU/2019/944) supports the uptake of energy communities. It introduced new rules to enable active consumer participation, individually or through citizen energy communities, in all markets, by generating, consuming, sharing or selling electricity, or by providing flexibility services through demand-response and storage.
EU countries may target vulnerable households, micro-enterprises, and transport users through energy communities under the Social Climate Fund Regulation (EU) 2023/955.