Community Energy Watch | Analyses – Recommendations

Just Transition in the Making
Last modified: March 2023
  • The Green Tank studies all available data, records trends, and, via concrete recommendations, continuously intervenes in the public debate on the development of the institution of Energy Communities and the latter’s contribution to the Just Transition of the lignite regions.

Policy Recommendations

By The Green Tank

A provision of subsidies for part of the cost of RES project installation should be instituted for public-benefit Energy Communities (involving either local/regional authorities or citizens), whose main objective is to cover their own needs through net-metering.

The grid should be upgraded and sufficient electrical space should be reserved to connect Energy Community projects, and especially those involving energy storage.

Priority should be given to local/regional authorities’ and citizens’ Energy Community projects whose objective is meeting own electricity needs; these projects should be guaranteed sufficient “electrical space” along with a suitable -in terms of size- land area for the installation of photovoltaic plants in the Lignite phase-out Zones.

A minimum fixed allocation of annual resources from the auctioning of CO2 emission allowances should be established, to be utilized according to the priorities of the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) and the corresponding Just Development Transition Program (PDAM), with a focus on Energy Communities.

A development fund (or an intermediary body) should be set up specifically for Energy Communities, in order to facilitate access to loans, provide guarantees, cover the costs of participating in competitive procedures, and subsidize the costs of projects’ preliminary phases.

It is essential to enhance citizen participation in large-scale RES projects implemented in lignite areas by large companies such as the Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC); this could be achieved by instituting share ownership and reserving part of the shares to be purchased by Energy Communities.

The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) that is currently under review should set specific quantitative targets for Energy Communities.

An information hub for energy communities should be launched by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, aimed to strengthen the institution through the collection and publication of data on Energy Communities and the formulation of recommendations (indicatively, regarding support schemes, business models, institutional changes, etc.), as well as to provide direct information on all relevant institutional developments and to address any issues that arise.

News