6 May 2026 | Joint webinar by LIFE POWER-E-COM & LIFE ISLET
On 26 May 2026, the EU LIFE-funded projects POWER-E-COM and LIFE ISLET co-organised an online webinar bringing together policymakers, energy practitioners, and community representatives from across Europe. The topic: what makes renewable energy communities work in rural areas and on islands – and what still holds them back.
More than 8,000 energy communities already operate across the EU. Yet for communities in dispersed rural settings or isolated island territories, the path from vision to implementation remains steep. Five speakers shared hands-on experience from Germany, Ireland, Upper Austria, and Italy, framed by the latest EU policy developments.
EU policy in 2026: momentum, but implementation gaps remain
Simona Sardi, policy adviser on energy to the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, opened with an assessment of the current policy landscape. The European Commission’s Citizens Energy Package, published in early 2026, marks a significant shift – bringing citizens and energy communities back to the centre of EU energy policy after years dominated by industrial competitiveness framing. Its headline commitment: grow renewable energy production by communities tenfold by 2030, from 9 GW to 90 GW.
Sardi flagged two active legislative battlegrounds: the next EU budget, where energy communities are still not explicitly named in the major funding programmes; and the Grids Package, where community-friendly connection rules and mandatory benefit-sharing by private developers are being negotiated. She called on practitioners to feed real-world implementation gaps to their umbrella organisations and MEPs directly.
Policy deep-dive: Citizens Energy Package and funding opportunities
Loïc Cobut from FEDARENE unpacked the specific actions in the Citizens Energy Package. The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub (CEAH) is becoming a key coordination point for monitoring, technical assistance, and best-practice dissemination across member states. Concrete opportunities: a second call for technical assistance through CEAH opens in September 2026, offering 20–40 days of expert support. A separate early-stage funding call under the European Energy Communities Facility offered €45,000 per project and was open until 5 July 2026.
Germany: citizen-led heat networks in rural Bavaria
Christiane Regauer from Energiewende Oberland (EWO), presented three pilot cases of community-driven district heating in rural Upper Bavaria – where 75% of heating still relies on fossil fuels and individual heat pumps often struggle in old village buildings.
Etting showed the cooperative model at its best: 400 residents, a woodchip-powered network, and 2,600 hours of volunteer work in the first three years. Bayrischzell illustrated a harder road – years of failed community ownership attempts ultimately resolved by two private individuals stepping in as investors, with community engagement sustained throughout. A third village, Ohlstadt, demonstrates how a local farmer with forest and biomass ties can anchor viability through pre-committed heat offtake from a hotel.
Five lessons cut across all three pilots: viability beats governance form; municipalities offer political support, not finance; local champions are non-negotiable; trusted practitioner networks solve problems together; and national funding – covering 30–40% of infrastructure costs in Germany – underpins all of it.
Ireland: the infrastructure is there, but access is not
Greg Allen from Community Power described both Ireland’s enabling framework and its practical obstacles. A microgrid support scheme, near-universal smart meter rollout, and community-specific auction pots under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme represent real progress. Community Power itself grew from Templeary Wind Farm – Ireland’s first and still only community wind farm, built in 2012 – whose revenues have been reinvested into a licensed electricity supply company supporting community projects nationally.
But the barriers are substantial. Energy sharing remains legally prohibited pending private wire legislation expected in summer 2026. Grid delays caused four community solar projects to miss auction deadlines despite €725,000 already paid in connection deposits. An enabling grant designed to cover exactly this kind of early-stage risk has been frozen over state aid concerns. The structural message: good architecture is in place, but communities are not yet treated as a priority within state systems.
Upper Austria: what real electricity sharing unlocks
Christiane Egger from OÖ Energiesparverband offered the most concrete evidence of what becomes possible once legislative conditions are right. Upper Austria now has over 800 renewable energy communities, more than 130 citizens energy communities, and 36,000 members – almost all in rural areas, almost all volunteer-run. The decisive enabler: Austria permits genuine electricity sharing within energy communities, allowing members to buy and sell power internally without an electricity retailer.
A member survey of 1,700 respondents showed that the primary motivation for joining was not cost savings but a sense of independence and local control over energy. The top-rated aspect of their community: the commitment and competence of the volunteers running it.
Italy: peer learning between islands
Valerio Paolini from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche presented LIFE ISLET’s experience on small Mediterranean islands, focusing on Procida and the replication case of Ponza. Islands face compounding challenges: limited roof space, weak grids, seasonal population swings, and social barriers to outside expertise.
The project’s most effective tool was peer exchange: mayors and technicians from Procida – where a REC had been successfully established – travelled to Ponza to share their experience directly with the local community. This cut through scepticism faster than any external presentation could. The lesson travels beyond islands: credibility moves fastest between people facing the same conditions.
POWER-E-COM fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange to empower the creation of a sustainable European energy future!
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