Skip to main content
Rural Energy Community Advisory Hub

What an energy community does

Typical activities and structures for an Energy Community.

Activities

Generation

Community energy projects collectively using or owning generation assets (e.g. Solar, wind, hydro) where members do not self-consume the energy produced but feed it into the network and sell it to a supplier.

Supply

The sale (and resale) of electricity and gas to customers (electricity, wood pellets, biogas and others). Large communities can have a large number of retail customers in their vicinity, and may also engage in aggregation activities combining customer loads and flexibility or generate electricity for sale, purchase or auction in electricity markets

Consumption and sharing

The energy produced by the energy community is used and shared inside the community

Distribution

Ownership and/or management of community-run distribution networks, such as local electricity grids or small-scale district heating and (bio)gas networks; often cooperatives can do both energy generation and distribution, but the network infrastructure is central to their business

Energy services

Energy efficiency or energy savings (e.g. renovation of buildings, energy auditing, consumption monitoring, heating and air quality assessments); flexibility, energy storage and smart grid integration; energy monitoring and energy management for network operations; financial services.

Electro-mobility

Car sharing, car-pooling and/or charging stations operation and management, or provision of e-cards for members and cooperatives.

Other activities

Consultation services to develop community ownership initiatives or to establish local cooperatives, information and awareness raising campaigns, or fuel poverty measures (e.g. Energie Solidaire Enercoop, France).

Click here to access guidance documents giving expert advice on how to set up and maintain a rural energy community.  

Join the network