Renewable Energy Communities are a form of Collective Self-consumption that allows energy produced from renewable sources in the availability of members to be shared among community members, thereby accessing contributions distributed among the various members.
To support its spread, the Ministero dell’Ambiente e dello Sviluppo Economico recently proposed an implementing decree contemplating contributions and INCENTIVES.
To access the latter, plants from renewable sources are eligible:
- entered into operation after the effective date of the legislative decree [March 1, 2020] (or for the new construction part of an existing plant);
- already existing, to an extent not exceeding 30 percent of the total capacity of the REC;
- storage systems that allow energy to be fed into the grid during periods of maximum consumption.
At a general level, these incentives consist of:
- a premium tariff recognized for each MWh produced and self-consumed, equal to 110 €/MWh of shared energy, whatever the production technology + a correction factor, linked to the level of insolation of the geographical area, equal to:
- +10 €/MWh for Regions in Northern Italy (Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d’Aosta, Veneto);
- +4 €/MWh for Regions in Central Italy (Lazio, Marche, Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo);
- Nothing for Regions in Southern Italy.
The incentive will be applied until the maximum financeable capacity of a total of 5 GW is reached by the end of 2027, is disbursed by the GSE from the date the plant is commissioned and until the end of the conventional average useful life of the type of production plant (about 20 years for a PV plant).
- a refund on the LV energy tariff (unit fee = sum of the transmission tariff for LV utilities and the highest value of the variable component of the distribution tariff for other LV utilities).
Excess energy fed into the grid is purchased by the GSE. For PV systems:
- if the shared energy share was 70% or more of the energy produced, the remaining energy share could be freely sold by the producer;
- if the share of shared energy was less than the 70% limit, of the excess electricity sold there would be a price ceiling of €0.08/kWh (€80/MWh).
In addition, subsidies are also proposed for INVESTMENT:
- for territories in municipalities under 5,000 inhabitants: a non-repayable contribution of up to 40 percent of the investment. The resources, provided by NRP funds amount to 2.2 billion euros. The subsidizable power will have to be at least 2 GW by June 30, 2026, and the subsidy will be cumulative with the tariff incentive;
- for all others: at the level of investment for the plant and storage systems you benefit from the 50% tax deductions on RES plants and for a part of the installed capacity (up to 20kWp); in addition to the benefits provided by the 110% Superbonus, if due.
The Public Administration can also be active in promoting and supporting the implementation of the ERC, for example by making public buildings and sites available for the implementation of the production plants and/or by bringing their existing plants into the Energy Community. As CISA we are already supporting several municipalities in Lombardy and beyond in this process.
