The Social Impact of Energy Communities in Greece

Duration: 2022 – 2024

Funded by: Heinrich Boll Stiftung – Thessaloniki

Coordinator: ELECTRA ENERGY

The project consists of a series of activities with the goal to deepen the understanding of the social impacts of energy communities in Greece and the multiple benefits measuring it holds for a diverse spectrum of actors.

Energy communities are a new stakeholder in the energy system, different from private investors and public enterprises. They are considered as a vehicle for enhanced civic participation, a platform for citizens to engage in transforming the energy system in their respective countries and benefit from energy transition. Through energy community projects citizens, local businesses and local authorities plan and implement collective energy production, management and energy saving projects. In order for them to develop it is essential to create an environment that recognises their specific characteristics and supports them appropriately, so that they can bring out and develop benefits for the local communities, in which they are created and operate. These benefits are usually economic and environmental, but they are also social. While the environmental and economic impact of sustainable energy projects is well recognised and largely measurable, it is difficult to make the same claim about the social impact.

REPORT: The Social Impact of Energy Communities in Greece

This report aims to present the impact of energy communities at a time when citizen participation in the energy transition and energy democracy emerge as particularly important conditions to shield societies against the current energy crisis and against similar crises in the future. The report aims to inspire and inform citizens, the members of the energy communities themselves, government institutions (at a local, regional, and national level), academic institutions, organizations, businesses, and civil society organizations, to deepen their understanding of the special characteristics of energy communities and take initiative in creating and supporting them.