Energy communities, here is the map of the projects in the main Italian cities

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Onward in cities like Milan, Rome, Florence, with the surprise Palermo. Back instead in areas such as Naples. It is a snapshot of the Italian panorama as regards the Renewable Energy Communities (Cer), i.e. the forms of self-production and self-consumption of energy from renewable sources. The advantages are many: from saving on bills to reducing pollution and emissions, as Europe is also asking for. The Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, in an interview with Sole 24 Ore, said he wanted to bet «to the birth of 15,000 energy communities». Fratin has tried to make up for the (many) delays accumulated in recent months with the proposal for a decree which aims precisely to encourage energy communities and in which, however, the green light is awaited from the European Commission for the definitive entry into force.

Meanwhile, the big cities are getting organized with projects that are just waiting to be implemented. And for the little ones, up to 5 thousand inhabitants, a 2.2 billion euro Pnrr tender is ready right on the Cer. Despite the growth of the energy communities, as underlined by Legambiente, “the numbers are still insufficient” so much so that the president Stefano Ciafani says that “the missing decrees stop investments”.

Northern Italy

TO Milan there are two energy communities that should be born following the ok from the EU Commission: «The first energy community could be born at Ghisolfa, at the Pizzigoni Renewed School – declared the councilor for the environment of the Municipality of Milan Elena Grandi -. We then started with a Cer project in the Chiaravalle area, an area that includes a cemetery, a school, houses: in that case we could also use regional tenders».

The ideas, therefore, are there but as Grandi reiterated, “the implementing decrees are missing and this blocks us a lot”.

TO Turin the Municipality has launched a process to map the buildings and understand where it is possible to insert the energy production plants. The administration is preparing to create the Cer and the City Council has also presented various documents in this sense, also making some proposals related to schools, in order to be able to implement the Cer in schools. «One of the energy communities will affect the Mirafiori Sud area – declared the councilor for environmental and energy policies of the Municipality of Turin Chiara Foglietta -. We will then study ad hoc concessions, that is, we will define how to allocate specific surfaces to private individuals to build photovoltaic systems».