Techno-economic analysis of self-consumption schemes and energy communities in Italy and Portugal

The European Union has been allocating funds for the energy transition to meet escalating global energy demands while minimising the environmental impact. This paper focuses on the impact of post-pandemic policies on photovoltaic technology in Italy and Portugal, specifically analysing self-consumption schemes and energy communities. A techno-economic assessment identified optimal PV systems for four families in each country, considering financial incentives. Italy offers Superbonus 110 and Ecobonus schemes, while Portugal provides access to the Environmental Fund. Profitable PV systems with storage are feasible in Italy but not in Portugal. Superbonus 110 favours smaller systems, Ecobonus supports larger ones, and Portuguese policies prioritise smaller systems. Simulations of energy communities for the same families showed that in Italy, the best configurations consist of families acting as producers with larger PV capacities and smaller batteries. In contrast, in Portugal, the policies favour smaller PV systems without batteries, resulting in optimal configurations where families are solely consumers. This research underscores diverse national approaches to post-pandemic energy policies and their nuanced impacts on PV technology in Italy and Portugal. It can be concluded that energy communities offer greater profitability than individual self-consumption schemes. This is because individual households continue to prioritise self-consumption and personal savings while selling their excess energy at a more favourable price than what they would receive from the grid.