The maximization of shared energy in RECs in disadvantaged areas in terms of population density: the case study of Osidda in Sardinia

Abstract

Abstract Even if the first examples of free associations of citizens for the exploitation of local energy resources date back to the end of the nineteenth century, it is with the EU Directive 2018/2001 RED II that the concept of Renewable Energy Community is introduced for the first time. It is an association of ordinary citizens, commercial activities, public administrations, small and medium-sized enterprises, aimed at the production and maximization of the use of energy produced on site. Alongside the social (greater energy independence, awareness of environmental issues) and environmental (promotion of renewable energy and reduction of CO2 emissions) aspects, the economic one is equally relevant in order to contribute to the dissemination of RES, maximizing its self-consumed share in the production site and therefore reducing the loads of overproduction on the transmission network. In this paper, the authors analyze in detail the regulatory aspects and the technological solutions that are contributing to the diffusion of these communities at national level, also in the light of the recent ARERA Resolution for widespread self-consumption. The critical issues associated with their implementation in disadvantaged area in terms of population density will be discussed. The case study of the Municipality of Osidda in Sardinia will be presented, where the provision of social services and the achievement of energy independence represent the tools to combat the rapid depopulation suffered in recent years. The model developed by the authors starts from an initial careful collection of data, aimed at overcoming the problems of measuring and estimating the energy consumption of very different users (residential and public), identifying the possible solutions able to maximize the shared energy produced by RES, inside the RECs and consequently the economic return connected to national economic incentives.