Valencia encourages the creation of energy communities

More of these will, hopefully, spring up on its territory

On Monday, 17 May, Valencia City Council, through the Valencia Climate and Energy Foundation, and the Horta Sud Foundation signed a collaboration agreement to promote the development of neighbourhood energy communities in that Spanish city. The goal is to promote the creation of an associationism mindset around the issues of energy production, consumption and sustainability.

What are neighbourhood energy communities?

The so-called energy communities constitute a model of energy collectivism. They are non-profit organizations, with open participation and with social and environmental purposes, which allow citizens to collaborate with small businesses and the public administration to share renewable energy resources and promote habits and measures of energy-saving and efficiency.

“We are currently immersed in a process of energy transition, and from Valencia City Council we think that energy communities are a very good tool to achieve this challenge," explained Alejandro Ramon, Councilor for Climate Emergency, adding: "It is true that most citizens are unaware of this model which, we recall, consists of an associative system between neighbors so that they can produce and also consume their own energy autonomously".

The Horta Sud Foundation will participate in the formation of local energy communities in different neighborhoods and districts of Valencia, through training and advice on the creation and development of non-profit entities to produce, share and consume renewable energy. Horta Sud will offer this advice through the program 'School of Associations', whose object is to respond to the needs of the collectives.

In the medium term, it is hoped that the collaboration can facilitate the promotion of one hundred neighbourhood energy communities in Valencia. In fact, the authorities are developing a 'portfolio' with multiple plans eligible for the Next Generation EU Fund. One of the axes of the Recovery Plan is precisely the promotion of sustainability and the change of energy models.