Renewables, here are the incentives for energy communities: the new tariffs – Corriere.it

Three brackets of incentives and a non-repayable grant of 40% for renewable energy plants in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. They are the main novelties of the decree on energy communities prepared by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, which sent it to the European Commission. The proposed decree will have to wait for the EU green light before entering into force. The energy communities, which envisage self-production and self-consumption, are one of the tools Brussels is relying on for the transition and in fact the Pnrr provides resources for 2.2 billion euros. Funds that will be used to encourage its birth and according to Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin in our country we will get to activate between 15 and 20 thousand.

Incentives from 100 to 120 euros/MWh

The incentives concern the share of energy produced by renewable source plants and shared by the participants in the energy community. The tariffs are made up of a fixed part and a variable part and are higher for smaller plants. There are three brackets. Plants above 600 kilowatts have a fixed part of 60 euros per megawatt hour and a variable part of up to 40 euros/MWh for a maximum of 100 euros per MWh. Plants from 200 to 600 kilowatts have a fixed rate of 70 euro/MWh and a variable rate which cannot exceed 40, with a ceiling of 110 euro/MWh. Plants under 200 kilowatts have 80 euros/MWh of fixed and a maximum of 40 euros of variable (cap at 120 euros. The decree also provides for an extra depending on the geographical location because the South has more sun and wind. Plants in Central Italy will receive an additional 4 euros/MWh, those in the North an extra 10 euros.

The plants allowed

The expected benefits concern all renewable technologies, such as photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric and biomass. In accordance with the provisions of the decree transposing the Red II directive, all plants that came into operation after the entry into force of the same legislative decree can access the tariff incentive. The power that can be financed is equal to a total of five gigawatts, with a time limit set at the end of 2027. The measure aims to achieve a total power of at least two gigawatts and an indicative production of at least 2,500 gigawatts per hour each year.

The Lost Fund

Only energy communities built in the municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants will be able to request a grant of up to 40% of the investment. The intervention may concern both the construction of new plants and the upgrading of existing plants. The manager of the measure, i.e. the operational arm, on which the authorizations and incentives will depend is the GSE, which will be able to verify the eligibility of the interested parties in advance to guarantee the concrete possibility of accessing the benefits.

Pichetto: decarbonization and energy autonomy

This measure – explains Minister Pichetto – is a tool consistent with the double objective of this government: decarbonisation by 2030 and energy independence. The wealth of Italy are its communities. The decree places them at the center of a strategy aimed at producing and consuming energy from clean sources saving on utility bills. If we know how to develop them as a national system, the Energy Communities will prove to be an enormous source of sustainable economic development and social cohesion.

The purpose of the EU

The decree – comments the energy economist Simona Benedettini – goes in the right direction of recognizing a wider role for renewable energy communities than simple self-consumption. In fact, it should be remembered that the European Directive sees renewable energy communities as an entity that can perform various functions that go beyond the production and self-consumption of green electricity: storage of electricity, sale to third parties of the renewable energy producedlowering energy costs and, more importantly, an engine to promote the acceptance of energy infrastructures by local communities.