At a time when the focus is on lowering energy costs for the country’s large industries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must not be left behind. Energy communities offer a crucial tool to support them, enabling collective energy production and consumption, which lowers costs and strengthens financial sustainability.
According to the article “Success Stories of Business Energy Communities” by Christina Zafeirouli on energygame.gr, with contributions from Ioanna Souka, Energy Policy Analyst at The Green Tank, there are already examples of energy communities in Greece, the most recent being the Prespes Renewable Energy Community (PREC). Established in 2024, this community aims to help local tourism professionals and bean farmers cope with the region’s high energy costs, exacerbated by climate conditions. Currently, a self-generation project is being prepared, featuring a 198.9 kW photovoltaic system with 193.5 kWh storage, which will operate under the virtual net billing mechanism.
However, these examples could be far more widespread if key obstacles were overcome. As Ioanna Souka points out: “One of the main challenges energy communities face is the lack of funding resources. There are some general financing tools for self-generation, such as solar PV for agricultural applications or rooftops through the Recovery Fund, but for energy communities specifically, available calls are almost non-existent. The only active funding call, with a budget of €41.8 million, targeted municipal energy communities and related organizations exclusively in transition regions, without including SMEs or individual citizens.”
Moreover, energy communities are not eligible for funding under the recently announced Social Climate Plan. “The European Union has established the Social Climate Fund, with €4.8 billion allocated to Greece, to support the most vulnerable households and SMEs.” Some of these funds could and should be used to support citizen and SME energy communities.
Beyond funding, institutional barriers and legal ambiguities further limit growth. Ioanna Souka also highlights energy sharing—the distribution of energy at the community level, as envisaged by the European Electricity Market Directive: “In Greece, implementation is currently limited to apartment buildings. Government intervention is needed to expand both the scope of participants and geographic coverage, strengthening self-consumption and energy democracy.”
In conclusion, reducing energy costs through energy communities is feasible, and early examples point the way. Wider adoption of the model requires political will, better funding, and a more supportive regulatory framework. The success of the energy transition cannot rely solely on large businesses and energy-intensive industries; it requires the active participation of local communities and SMEs, which form the backbone of the Greek economy.
