Author: Nayla Saniour
Redesigned by: Carla Ălvarez GonzĂĄlez
How can communities come together to take control of their own energy future?
The Valencia City Council is promoting Local Energy Communities providing legal advisory and mediation skills to promote agreements among neighbours around Local Energy Communities, under the legal form of Association. The public involvement is guaranteeing inclusive access and sustainability in the initial phase.
The City of Valencia is actively working towards EU climate neutral objectives: in September 2019, the City signed a climate pre-contract with 7 other Spanish cities and the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition. Besides, the City has been selected in the cohort of the EU Mission Climate Neutral Cities by 2030. Valencia is an active member of CitiES2030, Spanish Nacional Platform of cities through climate neutrality. In 2019, the City launched Missions València 2030, as a replication of the EU Missions at a city scale.
Local energy communities in Valencia are been promoted since 2019 by the public sector as an example of commitment with the whole city climate neutrality objective in 2030. The City Council of Valencia, through the Climate and Energy municipal Foundation and the network of Energy Officesin city districts, provides legal advisory and mediation skills to promote agreements among neighbour communities around Local Energy Communities (under the legal form of Association). This is provoking a chain effect among more and more neighbours communities asking for city services and accompaniment in the whole city.
Context and Public Policy of Reference
- Missions València 2030 commitment made by the city in 2019, follows the Missions of the European Unionâs Horizon Europe (2021-2027) program, to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and to improve the quality of life for its citizens.
- Urban Strategy València 2030, to benefit from cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral municipal coordination.
- Climate and Energy municipal Foundation is directly commitment with the Global Covenant of Mayors emissions reduction objectives signing the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP)
An innovative approach
In 2020, the European Commission acknowledged València as one of the most innovative cities in Europe. Contributing to the Mission selection process, and in parallel, Missions València 2030 also includes a process of organisational innovation with the aim of refocusing efforts, building capacities, and making the city of València and its City Council a true testing ground for mission-oriented innovation.
Local Energy Communities promotedby the City Council guarantee energy access to the most vulnerable people acting as a participant in the Energy Community (using the legal figure of the Association) in its initial phase, and paying a fee like all the other neighbours, with the condition of supporting the cost of those who cannot assume the initial cost. It is done in coordination with Social Services of the City and assuming a fee payment in Energy Communities located in vulnerable areas. City Council is providing legal advisory and mediation skills to promote agreements among neighbours around Local Energy Communities. They have developed a template to create the legal organisation (Association legal figure) and facilitates workshops in the districts, face to face, to create the Energy Community. City Council is promoting pilots on public and, also on private building to test different models of production of energy in the city.
Main positive lessons
- Energy Municipal Offices network at district scale
- Private and public pilots running in parallel under the legal form of Association
- Mayorâs commitment
- Current legislation allows to make photovoltaics (PV) installations (which can later on help to form an energy community) in a multiapartment building with only 1/3 quorum from the neighbours.
Main barriers found
- New EU regulation has not been adapted to the Spanish regulation completely yet. It provides freedom to energy communities to be constituted in the legal form that they want, but it also lacks on assistance (what they need, which steps they need to perform, etc.) and provokes people to be more reluctant to do so by themselves.
- The old Spanish restrictive legislation for self-consumption of energy (commonly called âtax sunâ) remains in the collective imagination and many people do not know that it is now allowed by the Royal Decree 244.
- Rejection by some neighborhood communities to use the roofs of their residential buildings for the photovoltaic installation.
- Some public buildings are not under the jurisdiction of Valencia which limits energy communities' expansion.
- Municipalities in Spain, as Valencia, cannot offer their public roofs so easily to neighbours because when 40k⏠are exceeded you need a tendering procedure.
Potential for reapplication and scale-up
Local Energy Communities offer a scalable and replicable model for decentralized energy production, distribution, and management. The concept empowers communities to produce and manage their own energy while reducing carbon emissions and increasing energy independence. The potential for reapplication lies in several key factors:
- Flexibility Across Contexts: This model is adaptable to urban, suburban, and rural areas, allowing diverse communities to adopt and tailor the approach according to their local resources, energy needs, and governance structures.
- Legal and Regulatory Adaptation: While the model requires supportive policies and regulations, the increasing focus on renewable energy and community-led solutions makes it well-suited for replication across regions with varying regulatory landscapes.
- Scalability through Modular Implementation: Local Energy Communities can start small, with pilot projects focusing on a few households or neighborhoods, and scale up as the community grows in confidence and capacity. The modelâs modular nature enables it to be replicated across cities, regions, or even nationally.
By fostering collective ownership and local decision-making, Local Energy Communities are creating pathways for wider energy transitions. With proper regulatory support and stakeholder engagement, this model has strong potential for reapplication and scaling up in diverse settings, contributing to a more decentralized, community-oriented energy future.
All images on this site are sourced from climaienergia.com. Video content is sourced from València Clima i Energia YouTube channel.