Europe’s vision of a citizen led energy revolution is falling short of expectations with legal confusion and technical barriers slowing progress, according to new auditors.
A report from the European Court of Auditors warns that energy communities were supposed to transform how people generate and share power across the bloc but the rollout has been far slower than planned.
Energy communities allow citizens local authorities and small businesses to jointly produce manage and consume electricity through projects such as shared solar rooftops or community wind turbines.
The concept has been backed by billions of euros of EU funding and was seen as a key pillar of Europe’s energy transition.
Brussels expected these schemes could account for between 17% and 21% of the EU’s wind and solar capacity by 2030.
Auditors say that projection now looks overly optimistic as the number of projects across the bloc remains far lower than anticipated.
João Leão the European Court of Auditors member responsible for the review said: “As the EU races to meet its climate and energy goals citizen led energy remains a compelling idea – ideal in theory but challenging in practice.”
One goal was for every municipality with more than 10,000 residents to host at least one renewable energy community by 2025.
The auditors say data suggests the EU has largely missed that target.
A key barrier has been legal uncertainty with unclear definitions around what qualifies as an energy community and how electricity can be shared or sold.
The report also points to grid congestion and difficulties connecting projects as a major obstacle.
Auditors say expanding energy storage could help balance supply and demand and ease pressure on networks.
However they warn the European Commission has yet to prioritise support for storage solutions needed to scale community energy across Europe.
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