The handbook presented by DG REGIO provides a comprehensive overview of the state of cross-border energy communities (CBECs) in Europe, showcasing replicable examples and best practices

At the end of January (20/01), our collegues for ELARD (European Leader Association for Rural Development) based in Brussels (Belgium) attended the launch event for the Handbook on Cross-border Energy Communities, developed for the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO) by a consortium comprising Spatial Foresight, Eurac, and EureConsult.

The event consisted in introducing the handbook, explaining why it was created and going through each chapter. That handbook is very informative, being a precise description step by step of what one should do to create a cross-border energy community (CBEC) or quasi CBEC – since there are quite a few legal hurdles to become a full CBEC.

The team mentioned that they could find 27 quasi-CBEC in Europe. Is it to say that Energy Communities across borders collaborate exchanging knowledge, setting systems up but without proper energy exchange.

A couple of successful examples were namely:

  • ALDEALIX: promotion of biomasss-based energy community (Portugal and Galicia (Spain)
  • The borderless energy region of Ralingen-Rosport-Mompach (Luxembourg, Germany)
  • Efi-Duero (quasi CEBC), which is a European energy cooperative society (legal status as a corporation): a gathering of 26 Spanish and Portuguese communities

In summary, the launch event focused on raising awareness of cross-border energy communities, introducing the handbook to policymakers, interest groups, and potential users.

Check the Handbook here.