Maniatis et al (2023) discuss the rise of energy communities in Greece since they were first introduced by legislation in 2018. The Agrinio and the Minoan energy communities are presented to be among the most successful ones.
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Communities and the Green Economy
The paper argues that the more decentralized nature of green energy, as opposed to fossil fuels, can empower the role of communities in energy markets. With renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, it is feasible for many households and small businesses to develop their own power plants. As a result, communities can be important actors in helping decarbonize energy markets and tackle energy poverty.
Such communities exist across Europe. In France, for example, Enercoop is an energy cooperative that has over 400 production sites. And in the UK, Energy4All has been offering financial and management services to such groups since 2002. The growing role of energy communities is also evident from some recent legislation by the European Commission: in April 2022, they launched the Energy Communities Repository, which aims to support the development of such collectives.
The case of Greece
In Greece, energy communities have a short history, as they were only introduced in legislation in early 2018 (Law 4513/2018). According to this, members of energy communities can be citizens, legal entities, and regional and local authorities. Such collectives are free to consume or trade the energy they produce, and they may choose to support vulnerable consumers within their area of responsibility. As they are meant to benefit their own locality, 50% + 1 of community members need to be related to the location of each of their projects.
According to some surveys referenced by Maniatis et al, Greece has over 400 energy communities, mostly located in Central Macedonia. The majority of these (~75%) have 10-20 members, and they have implemented a total of over 430 projects (mostly photovoltaic). The paper chooses to highlight two for their successes:
Agrinio Energy Community (AEC). It was formed by the Agricultural Cooperative of Agrinio (ACA), which is a collective dating back to the 1930s, and has traditionally been active in the agricultural sector. The cooperative has ~300 members, who are mostly tobacco and oil producers from the provinces of Trichonis, Xiromero, and Valtou. The cooperative manages ~15 energy communities, including 10 wind farms with 168 MW capacity and seven solar farms with 126 MW capacity.
Minoan Energy Community (MEC). Established in 2019, this is the first energy community to be established on the island of Crete. The collective has over 200 members, including municipalities, small businesses, and individual citizens, and it has commissioned a photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 405 kilowatt peak (kWp). Furthermore, it plans to cover the energy needs of low-income households in the area recently suffering from earthquakes (Arkalochori earthquake of 2021) and other natural disasters. In the words of one member, as cited by Maniatis et al, “the community is all about solidarity and goodwill because we cannot always rely on outside support”.
Conclusion
Admittedly, with just six years of history, energy communities in Greece are still in an early stage, with many citizens and entities probably still unaware of the new opportunities they have. What’s more, Maniatis et al argue that there is still significant scope for the relevant legislation and incentive schemes to improve and help the formation and success of such initiatives. But given positive examples such as the AEC and MEC, there seems to be space for optimism.
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