Community Energy Watch | Building an EnCom

Just Transition in the Making
Last modified: May 2023

5 Steps to an EnCom

Team

The first and very important step is the creation of the team, namely, finding persons who share the same needs and can work together towards a common goal.

Team members shall collectively formulate their vision, define the project’s purpose and confirm that an Energy Community is the right tool to achieve their objectives.

Legal Form

The team shall decide which type of Energy Community best suits their project and needs.

It shall then initiate the process of setting up a civil cooperative of exclusive purpose by drafting the organization’s statutes.

The latter shall then be approved by the founding members of the Energy Community.

General Commercial Registry (GEMI)

The approved EnCom statutes are filed with the One – Stop Service of the General Commercial Registry (GEMI) in order for the community to acquire legal personality and commercial status.

The cooperative capital that has been initially agreed must be paid within 3 months, otherwise the community shall be dissolved.

General Assembly

Subsequently, the first General Assembly shall carry out elections to determine the Board of Directors.

The GEMI shall be informed of the above within twenty (20) days.

Tax Identification Number (TIN) – Seat of the Energy Community

The Energy Community must register its seat, obtain a TIN and open a bank account.

At this stage, the EnCom may start implementing its plan.

5 Steps to a project

Identification of Needs
Determination of Technology Needs – Study
Finding a Plot of Land – Site
Submitting a Connection Request to the HEDNO
Project Implementation – Grid connection
  • Energy Communities are established to meet the energy needs of members or to become active in the field of renewable energy. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study so as to determine how the EnCom project shall be developed, to find the project site, and to draft a connection request to be submitted to the HEDNO; this process implies the collection of various documents, such as contracts regarding the plot or certificates on land productivity.
  • Once the HEDNO (Network Operator) approves the conditions of the request, connection to the network is secured. At that stage, the EnCom shall immediately “set up” the project so that the connection can proceed.

Additional Information

“Building Energy Communities in Greece”, The Heinrich Böll Foundation (2019)

Sample of the statutes of a non-profit Energy Community: Hyperion Energy Community

Financing Guide for Energy Communities – published by Horizon 2020 Sustainable Collective Citizen Action for a Local Europe (SCCALE) 20 30 50

Koini Tasi (Common Current) Information platform by Greenpeace

Energy Community Repository. This initiative was launched in April 2022 by the European Commission. Its purpose is to assist local actors and citizens in setting-up EnComs in urban areas by providing technical and administrative advice, and to contribute to the Just Transition to climate neutrality.

As an extension of the Energy Communities Repository, the European Commission has launched the Rural Energy Community Advisory Hub, which aims to encourage and enable citizens, small businesses, farmers and local authorities to work together and create EnComs in the countryside.

On 22 June 2022, the European Commission’s Energy Community Depository opened its application platform aimed at providing technical assistance to 150 Energy Communities in the EU. Technical assistance involved direct expert support regarding EnCom establishment, business plan development, project implementation, etc. The call closed on 31.12.2022.