Renewable Energy Communities in Italy: current status and new perspectives
This research report examines the development of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) within the national context, with a particular focus on their role in energy transition and regional development. This work forms part of EURICSE’s research into forms of civic self-organisation and cooperative models for the management of goods and services of general interest, and contributes to the activities set out in the Programme Agreement with the Autonomous Province of Trento, which aims to support the spread of RECs and strengthen local expertise in sustainable energy planning.
Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are now one of the most significant socio-technical innovations on the European scene: models in which citizens, businesses and public bodies collaborate on the production, sharing and self-consumption of energy from renewable sources. Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are thus emerging as social infrastructures capable not only of promoting the production of renewable energy, but also of strengthening local autonomy and generating collective benefits, including the aim of tackling energy poverty.
The study is divided into seven sections: a theoretical and regulatory framework of the phenomenon, an analysis of the European and national context, an up-to-date overview of Renewable Energy Communities in Italy, the results of the quantitative and qualitative survey, an in-depth examination of the main organisational models, and a section dedicated to Trentino. The study concludes with a summary of the main findings, a discussion of the implications for public policy, and a number of operational and policy recommendations aimed at supporting the future development of these models.
Following an analysis of developments in the European and national conceptual and regulatory framework, the Report is divided into two main parts: a quantitative survey and a qualitative analysis. The first part examined 597 Energy Communities (CERs) registered with the Energy Services Operator (GSE) as at 30 September 2025, analysing their geographical distribution, installed capacity, number of plants and composition of users. The phenomenon is widespread across the whole country, with a higher concentration in the North-West, which accounts for 31 per cent of CERs, and in the South and the Islands, where 30 per cent of energy communities are concentrated. The second part consists of an in-depth analysis of the qualitative aspects, comprising 48 case studies and a detailed examination of organisational models, legal forms, governance structures and financing instruments.
To provide a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon, the Report also sets out a typology of ideal-typical models of CERs: initiatives promoted by public administrations, local businesses and citizen-led groups, highlighting differences in terms of governance, objectives and development dynamics.
Finally, a detailed analysis is devoted to the Trentino region, where there are 29 active CERs, with a total capacity of approximately 7,400 kW and involving nearly 1,400 households. Of these 29, the analysis is based on a sample of seven case studies, selected to represent the variety of organisational, technical and institutional configurations present in the region. This analysis also examines the role of the cooperative model, consortia and the policies of the Autonomous Province of Trento in supporting their development. The aim is to highlight the opportunities and limitations for the development of CERs in a region that is particularly advanced but also complex from an energy perspective.
The study was carried out as part of the Programme Agreement between EURICSE and the autonomous Province of Trento for 2023–2025.
