Building a Renewable Energy Community for the Tor Sapienza district in Rome

Abstract

Abstract The transition away from fossil fuels towards a carbon-neutral, clean and circular economy is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Energy communities are one of the tools to re-structure our energy systems by harnessing the energy and allowing citizens to participate actively in the energy transition and thereby enjoy greater benefits. The definition of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) given by the European Commission, places the REC as an association that produces and shares renewable energy, generating and managing cost-effective green energy autonomously, reducing CO2 emissions and energy waste. Observing this definition, the new Italian regulations concerning RECs boost distributed generation, encouraging the development of ‘zero-mile’ local energy production and smart grids. This research aims to evaluate the conditions to propose a REC in the Tor Sapienza district, as an Italian prototype, assessing the possibilities and advantages of transforming it into a large-scale sustainable infrastructure by means of a deep energy transition and the active role of local citizens, public administrations and small and medium-sized enterprises. Thanks to an in-depth technological, environmental and demographic survey of the neighbourhood, the study focuses on the retrofitting of a social housing complex in Tor Sapienza, as the main prosumer of the REC.