Renewable Energy Communities in Italy: proposal and optimisation of a case study

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are an effective solution to properly manage the energy dispatch of non-programmable renewable sources. Indeed, they make it possible to stimulate local self-consumption of renewable energy when it is available, with consequent energy and economic benefits. Their development is closely linked to current energy challenges, including dependence on fossil fuels, rising energy costs, the need to reduce CO2 emissions and energy poverty. These communities are currently spreading more and more significantly, facing the various bureaucratic and administrative difficulties of the different countries. In particular, Italy recently approved a relevant subsidy programme to support RECs, which are rapidly growing on the territory. In the framework of a national research project, the present work evaluates the possibility of creating and optimizing a REC among the Municipality of Ascoli Piceno in Italy and local households. An optimization criterion for the REC is proposed and the energy, economic and environmental performances are assessed, based on the optimization of the shared electricity, considering current national subsidies. Obtained results show that the creation of a REC with an optimized configuration allows to significantly increase obtainable benefits in the specific application context.