Kerneïs K.  “Fleshing out energy community legislation in EU Member states for a fair energy transition ”, Sun4all Project, European Commission, June 2024

This policy brief highlights the role of national governments in fostering the development of energy communities in their territories overall, and in particular on how to support energy communities in fulfilling their potential for social cohesion. The analysis primarily draws on the Sun4All project, a Horizon 2020 project that tests support schemes that help vulnerable households switch to renewable energy while reducing their energy bills through collective self-consumption schemes and energy communities in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The policy brief first reviews the transposition process of the first-generation EU legislation on energy communities and key aspects of it. It then outlines the new provisions that Member states will need to adopt in the coming years as part of the second-generation EU legislation on energy communities. Lastly, the policy brief offers concrete policy recommendations targeting national-level policymakers in order to boost the development of energy communities and support them in fulfilling their wider social goals.