Helpdesk and Notebooks on Renewable Energy Communities
About this good practice
Emilia Romagna Region and Art-Er (regional in-house agency) supports RECs development by helpdesk and notebooks since December 2022.
The helpdesk informs and assists citizens, local authorities and SMEs regarding methods of establishing RECs, critical issues that may arise, limits and advantages of participating in them. In fact, the Region receives frequently requests of reliable information on this new type of legal entity, about which no one knew much. The launching the information desk was needed for all stakeholders interested in investing in RECs. References were made available through a topic area dedicated to energy communities on the regional institutional website.
To promote the development of RECs, ART-ER and the Emilia-Romagna Region published a series of Notebooks on the Ecological Transition. They are downloadable for free from the website.
The 1st RECs Notebook has been produced in collaboration with the Agency for Energy and Sustainable Development, to provide the first regulatory, technical and managerial information necessary to understand how REC’s work and how they can be financed.
The 2nd notebook analyses the different legal forms that an energy community can choose on the basis of current legislation. The models in the notebook are described in their essential elements, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses planning a target support in the phase of constitution of the REC.
Resources needed
6 people financed by Emilia-Romagna Region for about 25.000,00€ per year. The resources are experts in charge of manage the helpdesk and prepare the notebook contents, answering to the requests of the citizens and other stakeholders interested in create a REC.
Evidence of success
The helpdesk received 182 requests for assistance corresponding to about 300 topics covered in the questions raised. Most users (66%) requests were addressed via web form. More than 2/3 of requests came from citizens, followed by businesses (17%) and focusing above all on procedures and requirements to establish a REC (24%), followed by the request for tenders and other forms of support on a regional and national scale (13%). The Notebooks are also successful, widely disseminated and downloaded.
Potential for learning or transfer
The tools of this good practice are fully replicable, as each state or region can produce structured and clear materials to explain benefits and difficulties of RECs or equip itself with a helpdesk to support citizens, municipalities and other stakeholders. To spread the Notebooks, it is useful to have their digital version to be easily downloadable with a QR code or by accessing the site. This method is sustainable, free and guarantees a wide dissemination of info, reaching more users.