Italian energy communities: a model of ecological transition for Europe

November 29, 2025

VIVACE had the pleasure of attending this week’s 5th National Conference on Energy Communities in Rome, hosted by Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) and organized by the Italian Forum of Energy Communities, WEC Italia and the Energy Center of Politecnico di Torino, with the support of the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security. In this briefing, we review some of the key features of Italian energy communities and how these projects can be developed in other EU countries while integrating agricultural development strategies.

Italian energy communities, known as comunità energetiche rinnovabili (CER), represent an emerging pillar of Italy’s energy transition, rooted in EU Directives 2018/2001 and 2019/944. These directives define renewable energy communities as autonomous, voluntary legal entities controlled by local members, whose primary objective is environmental, social and economic benefit rather than profit. They grant CERs rights to produce, consume, store and share renewable energy and access electricity markets.

Regulatory evolution

Italy began transposing the above directives early through Decree-Law 162/2019 (converted into Law 8/2020), ARERA Deliberation 318/2020, Ministerial Decree of 16 September 2020 and GSE technical rules. This first phase introduced virtual energy sharing, calculating shared energy hourly as the minimum between total electricity produced by the community and fed into the network.

A complete regulatory system emerged between 2021 and 2024 with Legislative Decrees 199/2021 and 210/2021, ARERA Deliberation 727/2022, the 2023 CACER Decree and 2024 GSE operational rules. TIAD clarified three energy categories: shared energy (within the same market zone), auto-consumed energy (within the same cabina primaria) and incentivized energy (under the conditions provided by the decrees). In 2025, the Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) Misura went into effect, providing a grant of up to 40% of eligible costs, initially for municipalities under 5,000 inhabitants, now expanded to those under 50,000. Overall funding for CERs available under the PNRR is approximately €800 million.

Current deployment status

According to the latest data from GSE, as of March 2025, Italy had 212 active CERs, comprising 326 renewable-energy installations, with a total installed capacity of about 18 MW and roughly 1,956 connected users.

Despite growing interest and an increasing number of applications, this only represents approximately 1% of the target set forth in the PNRR, which aims for 1,730 MW installed via CERs by June 2026.

While Italy’s CER landscape is expanding and individual projects demonstrate promising levels of participation, generation capacity and shared energy, deployment remains at an early stage relative to national climate and energy goals.

Implementation process

Implementing a CER involves a structured, multi-phase process that ensures technical, economic, legal and organizational viability. The first step is conducting a feasibility study, which analyzes local energy demand, available renewable resources, grid constraints and potential generation sites. This assessment defines the optimal configuration of photovoltaic, storage, or hybrid solutions and estimates expected auto-consumption and shared energy. 

Following this, economic modeling evaluates investment needs, operational costs and projected revenues from incentives such as the Italian GSE tariff for shared energy. Business models must be compared (association, cooperative, public-private partnership) to determine the most sustainable and inclusive approach.

The next stage is the legal constitution of the CER, where members formalize governance rules, roles and responsibilities through statutes and internal regulations. Once established, the community proceeds with project development, including design, permitting, procurement, installation and grid connection of generation and storage systems.

After construction, the CER must complete GSE activation procedures, submitting technical documentation, metering configurations and membership declarations to access incentives. The final step is establishing ongoing governance, which ensures transparent decision-making, financial management, performance monitoring and continuous member engagement.

The potential of agri-energy co-development

Italy has already seen concrete examples of hybrid agri-energy projects under the CER model. For instance, the Energia Agricola a km 0 project, described as the first 100% renewable agri-energy community in Italy, combines photovoltaic production with agricultural activity, delivering over 8.5 million kWh per year.

More recently, companies like Renantis have launched agrivoltaic projects such as a 15-hectare site in Udine designed to combine solar energy production with the cultivation of melliferous trees, meadows, and beekeeping, thereby enhancing biodiversity and generating new agricultural incomes alongside energy.  

The partnership between EF Solare Italia and agricultural producers has also created photovoltaic greenhouses that produce electricity and grow crops (i.e., citrus, berries), while reducing CO₂ emissions and providing stable returns for both energy and agriculture.

These examples show the potential of CER-driven agricultural projects to maximize land use, diversify revenue streams for rural communities, support decarbonization and strengthen social cohesion.

Into 2026 and beyond

Despite administrative and deployment challenges, the CER model is proving capable of delivering environmental, social and economic value at the local level. Current GSE data confirm that Italy’s CER ecosystem remains in its early stages, yet the accelerating number of initiatives reflects growing community engagement, territorial interest and alignment with national decarbonization goals.

One of the most promising frontiers for CER expansion lies in agri-energy integration. By combining renewable-energy generation through agrivoltaic systems, community-owned solar greenhouses or farm-based energy cooperatives, CERs can enhance land productivity while creating new revenue streams for farmers and rural residents. These hybrid models improve resilience, support food production, preserve landscapes and enable communities to participate directly in the energy transition. Early Italian examples show how dual-use land projects can generate clean power without reducing agricultural output, and in many cases can strengthen local biodiversity and farm competitiveness.

Taken together, CERs and agri-energy initiatives represent a transformative opportunity for Italy: a chance to build decentralized, community-owned renewable infrastructure while revitalizing rural economies and strengthening social cohesion. If supported by streamlined procedures, stable incentives, and effective local governance, these integrated models can become a cornerstone of Italy’s transition toward a more democratic, sustainable and territorially-rooted energy system.

CPM