Da PV MAGAZINE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solar energy community will be part of a citizen energy community aimed at covering the energy needs of half of the citizens of an Italian, small northern municipality. <\/em> Magliano Alpi is the first Italian municipality to establish a renewable energy community (REC)<\/a> in Italy, after new rules<\/a> and incentives<\/a> were defined in the second half of 2020. The commune aims to create a network of RECs in its territory to cover the energy needs of half of its citizens, banking on the \u201cunprecedented\u201d public funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCurrently we have seven members connected to the REC, of which three are public buildings,\u201d Marco Bailo, mayor of Magliano Alpi<\/a>, told pv magazine<\/strong>. \u201cWe are a small village with 2,200 citizens and a low building density. Since each REC has to be connected to one single transformer substation, the main difficulty has been to understand which users were connected to the same substation. We started with the town hall\u2019s substation but we will soon cover all the municipality\u2019s 13 substations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Magliano Alpi is collaborating with other towns in the northwest region of Piedmont. \u201cThe municipality of Magliano is bringing in five neighboring municipalities to create a series of RECs. At first, they will be separate entities. Next year, though, with the transposition of the directive 944\/2019 on citizen energy communities<\/a> (CEC), these five municipalities will aggregate to form a CEC,\u201d Sergio Olivero, president of the scientific committee of the REC stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CEC should be just the beginning of a wide-ranging collaboration with several other municipalities, not only in Piedmont, local authorities say. According to Olivero, the law which implemented the RED-II Directive in Italy \u2013 and allowed the creation of RECs \u2013 is revolutionary. It lays the ground for the first private law entity participated in by municipalities, companies, and citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is \u2026 public-private collaboration at its best and is an unprecedented opportunity,\u201d he stated. \u201cMore has happened in Italy in the last six months than in the six years before that. The private sector can tap into the superbonus<\/a> or the 50% renovation tax break<\/a>. The public sector has resources too. In addition, the Ministry of Economic Development grants a subsidy of \u20ac110 per megawatt-hour<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olivero added, all municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants have \u20ac100,000 to spend on energy communities. This allocation will last until 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bailo added that several municipalities are using the winter to prepare for the installation of new PV systems connected to the local REC. At the moment, just one PV system is installed, on the town hall. According to the mayor, the installation of the smart meters for the REC’s members, and the selection of the management system, were other key decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the preliminary phase, before establishing the REC, we contacted representatives of the municipality of Berchidda, a municipality in Sardinia,\u201d Bailo said. \u201cThey had created an energy flow management platform. We are now making use of their knowledge and knowhow. Through their platform, we can see the production and consumption of our REC\u2019s members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bailo and Olivero, who registered the REC before Christmas, explain that the aim is to use the \u201cunique opportunity to be part, and take advantage of, the energy transition, a key strategy to relaunch Italy\u2019s economy after the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JANUARY 14, 2021 SERGIO MATALUCCI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nLocal complexities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n