Electra Energy Cooperative - Olympionikon

The publishing of the “Building Energy Communities in Greece” guidebook coincides with a time when the community energy movement in Greece appears to be on the rise, especially after the adoption of Law 4513, in January 2018. The new legal framework aspires to combine Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and the energy sector and introduces a new type of civil cooperative of exclusive purpose, the Energy Community (EC). ECs constitute an important tool for achieving fair energy transition in the country, since renewable energy and energy savings offer, as well as, require a geographic dispersion of investments and the involvement of the many, in order for the proper exploitation of the former.

ECs are confronted with multiple challenges. On the one hand, as civil cooperatives of multiple stakeholders falling under the Social and Solidarity Economy, they are expected to overcome a series of difficulties, including the complexity of the SSE institutional framework, the lack of adequate know-how and information regarding social security, accounting and tax-related issues both among market institutions as well as government agencies, including a negative legacy of the cooperative movement in Greece.  On the other hand, ECs are also expected to render themselves active and sustainable in a highly competitive environment, i.e. the energy market, which currently is under transformation anyway. However, both at a European and national policy level, the basic framework has been laid out and the role of citizens in the future of energy is undoubtedly quintessential. Therefore, as cooperatives, energy communities are burdened as by their cooperative principles, to train and build the capacity of their members in order for them to be able to assume multiple roles such as producer-consumer, supplier, co-owner.

This guide aims to clarify the framework in which ECs operate, their role in a fair energy transition while providing both theoretical and practical information for their development. In particular:

• Chapter 1 presents the national and European institutional framework pertaining to energy and the climate. It is now an established fact that the role of the consumer in the energy transition is strengthened through their renewable energy generation potential, both at European and national levels. And this, along with the role of the ECs in the Energy Planning of Greece, as a means to achieve an increase in de-centralized energy production strengthening the participatory role of local societies and consumers.

• Chapter 2 clarifies basic concepts of the Social and Solidarity Economy; an alternative to organizing the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, based on the principles of democracy, equality, solidarity, cooperation as well as respect for the society and the environment. Both at a national and international level, the SSE is called upon to respond to the social, economic and environmental challenges of our time, particularly in response to the failure of the state and the capital-driven economy. Special reference is made to the Law 4430/2016 on Social and Solidarity Economy, since ECs fall within its scope and could be considered its agents according to the criteria laid down by the law.

• Chapter 3 presents the recent legal framework, i.e. Law 4513/2018 for Energy Communities. As civil cooperatives that operate exclusively in the field of energy, ECs aim at promoting a social and solidarity-based economy as well as innovation in the energy sector, addressing energy poverty and promoting energy sustainability, generation, storage, own use and consumption, distribution as well as supply of energy, enhancing energy self-sufficiency and security in island municipalities, while improving energy end-use efficiency at local and regional levels. Key concepts of the legislation are locality and insularity. The law distinguishes between non-profit and not-for-profit ECs and regulates the minimum number of members, their scope of activity, geographical scope, membership of local authorities, cooperative capital, distribution of surpluses as well as the minimum content of its statute. Finally, the law provides financial incentives and measures in support of ECs as well as technological tools such as net-metering and virtual net-metering.

• Chapter 4 provides citizens interested to engage in ECs with useful information on key aspects and potential steps crucial to contemplate and prepare for early on as experience has shown so far, thus contributing to the maturing of the original idea and the viability of the venture. Special attention should be paid to:
• the establishment of the founding group as people are Ecs’ greatest asset,
• the interaction and building of trust with the wider community as well as key-stakeholders in order to attain local support,
• the shaping of a common vision-compass for all involved, in a participatory way, facilitating the seeking of financing while enhancing local support,
• the careful selection of an activity making the most of out of the local energy resources while serving the needs of its members and of the wider community in a sustainable way,
• the organization of day-to-day business and functions in a way respecting the international cooperative principles and values,
• the preparation of a business plan advancing the development of the EC.

• Chapter 5 focuses on interesting examples of energy cooperatives from the rest of Europe, such as Som Energia, an energy cooperative founded in 2010 at Catalonia, Spain, currently counting over 35.000 members. Som Energia produces and supplies electricity to households, businesses and municipalities. It is a member of the European Federation of Renewable Energy Cooperatives (RESCoop.eu) which supported its development greatly. Another example is REScoop plus initiative focusing more on energy efficiency. The initiative is funded by the European Commission (Horizon 2020) and aims at developing REScoops with a focus on analyzing and improving the energy behavior of their members. It also highlights best practices and promotes appropriate energy efficiency measures, adding value to existing and future REScoops. The last example comes from the south of the Netherlands, the Goeree-Overflakkee island. The energy community Deltawind was founded in 1989 with a vision of contributing to the production of renewable energy as well as its responsible consumption in and beyond the region, consisting today of more than 2.080 members. In collaboration with the neighboring energy community Zeeuwind, they erected and operated the Krammer Wind Farm. Combined, their 4.000 members own the park and supply directly renewable energy to three private companies, meeting the needs of 100.000 households.

Lastly, a more detailed and specific information is provided in the annexes, as well as useful tools for the further support of ECs.  The guidebook focuses on a specific legal entity, that of the Energy Community as defined by Law 4513/2018, and it does not address other legal forms in a comparative way. However, it does provide information which could prove useful for social enterprises wishing to get active in the energy sector regardless of their legal form. Moreover, although each chapter represents distinct steps in setting up an EC, they do not need to be strictly observed in terms of time sequence. What is important is the preparation of the stakeholders for every step of the way. To conclude, it is important to underline that this guidebook cannot substitute the need for customized legal aid or accounting support for every particular energy community. Given on the one hand, the wide range and diversity of actors/ groups involved in each venture and, on the other, the fact that the institutional framework is quite recent and its implementation is at an early stage.

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