Empowering local renewable energy communities for the decarbonisation of the energy systems

Project Information

LocalRES

Grant agreement ID: 957819

DOI

10.3030/957819

Project closed

EC signature date 28 April 2021

Start date 1 May 2021

End date 30 April 2026

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 7 132 149,26

EU contribution

€ 6 095 862,50

Coordinated by

FUNDACION CARTIF
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LocalRES (Empowering local renewable energy communities for the decarbonisation of the energy systems)

Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The energy system in Europe currently undergoes profound changes, shifting from centralised towards decentralised, from fossil fuels to Renewable Energy Sources (RES), and from a passive to a more active role of users. This paradigm is a direct result of EU’s plans to decarbonize the energy sector, deliver energy at affordable prices and enhance the security of supply. As part of this strategy, the new Clean Energy Package prioritised the empowerment of customers, and included the new figure of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) within the revised Renewable Energy Directive (REDII).
Community-led energy projects have a huge potential to drive the energy transition while offering new and attractive opportunities for decarbonising local energy systems. However, the design, planning and operation of RECs is still a great challenge for most citizens and local actors due to the novelty of this legal figure and the inherent complexity of community energy systems. LocalRES project aims at bridging these gaps and constituting a shuttle for the setting up of RECs by developing digital tools that support the co-design of the local energy landscape and enable the optimal management of energy systems. These solutions will be demonstrated in four remote rural sites across Europe, together with additional decarbonisation solutions (e.g. PV, power-to-heat, power-to-vehicle, storage or ICT). In particular, the demo sites are small villages with a weak connection to the main grid which have a high replicability potential, and include: two isolated towns, Ispaster (Spain) and Ollersdorf (Austria) and two geographical islands, Berchidda (Italy) and Kökar (Finland).
The main objective of LocalRES is to engage citizens, other local actors and communities to participate actively in the energy transition, focusing on the figure of RECs as main actors for leading the structural change towards the decarbonisation of the local energy systems. To do so, LocalRES proposes a holistic approach covering the whole value chain of RECs, including: preliminary phases of learning and raising awareness among local actors, the assessment of REC-driven services and their related business models, the co-design and planning of RECs supported by participatory processes, the deployment, demonstration and integration of decarbonisation solutions, the dissemination of lessons learnt and policy recommendations related to RECs, or the replicability and promotion of RECs.
In the scope of LocalRES, a Planning Tool has been developed to enable the participation of citizens and local actors in the decision-making processes associated to the planning of a REC. The Planning Tool has been co-designed by local stakeholders, and accessible for expert and no-expert users, promoting their understanding about energy systems and the feasibility of alternative scenarios, allowing them to make informed decisions. LocalRES has also developed a Multi-Energy Virtual Power Plant (MEVPP) approach to manage and optimize in real time different energy vectors and to provide different energy and flexibility services according to the interests of the community, which will maximize the contribution of RES, enhance the energy system flexibility and supply security.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first 42 months of project, different activities have been completed. The first tasks were related to the definition of the basis for further project developments, whereas the latest include the development of the tools:
• The local conditions in all demos were analysed, resulting in baseline studies, a regulatory assessment of each context, the definition of four project use cases, Cost Benefit Analyses, or the definition of REC-driven business models.
• A set of REC-driven services to be potentially provided by energy communities have been identified and analysed, and different decarbonisation scenarios have been simulated to study long-term perspectives of the energy transition in all demos.
• The design of the Planning Tool was carried out in all demos following participatory strategies, which supported the definition of functional and technical specifications of the Planning Tool. The development has been carried out, dividing the work in Expert Planning, Citizen Planning and integration. The specifications and construction of the LocalRES database were also completed.
• All features of the MEVPP have been developed: blackout recovery strategies, joint behaviour and assets model and trading strategies (including peer-to-peer).
• A KPI-driven evaluation framework was developed, including a set of KPIs for the evaluation of demonstration actions.
• A first version of the demonstration planning was developed for all demos. At the moment, the demonstration and implementation actions are progressing correctly for all five demo sites.
• Replication and policy promotion activities are been performed.
• The IPR management strategy and the exploitation plan were prepared.
• The communication and dissemination strategies, project website, visual identity, graphic guidelines and local posters were elaborated. Other activities conducted are the participation in the BRIDGE initiative or the active participation on social media and public events.
From the beginning of the project until M42, several key challenges have been overcome, such as the blocking of the demo site in Kökar or the negative impact of the Austrian regulation on P2P activities. The project has been successfully redirected with the inclusion of the Osimo demo site, thus maintaining the impact of the project and seeking to improve the lives of its inhabitants by creating energy communities.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LocalRES will deliver new digital tools aimed at boosting the structural change in the energy system. The Planning Tool will enable local stakeholders, independently of their expertise on energy, being involved in the design process of their energy community. This tool includes valuable inputs for users (technical, financing or legal) and provides KPIs accessible to different profiles of users to facilitate the decision making in the REC. LocalRES Planning Tool also allow its use for co-creation sessions and participatory processes, promoting the awareness and engagement of citizens.
The MEVPP approach allows providing different services adapted to RECs by integrating a range of assets, includes management strategies to promote a sector-coupling approach, and has developed algorithms to provide collective services (e.g. collective self-consumption), local energy market services (e.g. congestion management or voltage control), or energy market services (e.g. ancillary services).
LocalRES will also deliver valuable experience from the demo sites as lessons learnt and policy recommendations, which will be spread through BRIDGE and CE4EUI initiatives and other relevant forums. Several impacts are expected: 1) a positive effect on local energy systems by deploying decarbonisation solutions, but also on the wider energy infrastructure and on economy, social aspects and air quality at local level; 2) the enhancement of the involvement of energy users in developing and operating local energy systems and in the test REC-driven business models; 3) the validation of approaches, strategies and tools to safely and securely operate an integrated local energy system across energy vectors; or 4) the benchmarking of technical solutions and business models that can be replicated in various local regions.

Logo of the project