Grădina Apusului energy community
About this good practice
The Gradina Apusului Energy Community is situated within a 4-story apartment building housing 60 apartments. This initiative primarily addresses the challenge of reducing energy costs associated with lighting the building's shared spaces. The solution implemented involves a photovoltaic system with a peak power output of 5.7 kW spanning 40 m² of the building's roof. Currently, the energy is only offset from the energy required for lighting in the shared spaces of the building. The energy community has attained prosumer status, allowing it to inject surplus energy back into the power grid.
The primary stakeholders and beneficiaries of this project are the residents of the apartment building and the energy distribution company. Looking ahead, the energy community (represented by the tenants association) aims to offset the energy consumption of the residents within their individual apartments.
Resources needed
The Între Vecini association, an NGO focused on sustainable communities, funded the project with 5500 Euros. They support apartment building associations with PV installations, waste management, urban gardening, air pollution monitoring, cultural activities.A key goal is to increase tenant cohesion.
Evidence of success
This practice greatly reduces the costs of lighting in the shared spaces of the apartment building. It has the potential to generate profits for the residents by selling excess energy.
Potential for learning or transfer
This practice is a great example of increasing the sustainability of apartment blocks through the increase of RES usage for reducing dependency on the grid. Additionally, this is a great example of cooperation between the residents inside an apartment building.
There are lessons to be learned from this initiative on how to navigate the difficult regulatory landscape of energy communities in Romania as it is one of the first attempts of Romanian citizens in the creation of an energy community. This process is still ongoing, as of the writing of this good practice the ultimate goal of a fully fledged energy community has not yet been reached, the current situation being one of shared self-consumption. Based on the evolving legislation in this field, the status of the association could be hopefully changed soon in the near future into an energy community.
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
