Greenhouse gases reduction and mitigation of climate change consequences have been motivating countries to develop policies and tools that encourage the use of renewable energy sources, by making them more accessible. In several countries, communities have been promoting initiatives, known as “renewable energy communities” (REC), consisting of the development of renewable energy projects lead by a group of people sharing the same geographic location, as well as overall costs and benefits. In this work, we use a village located in Alentejo region (S. Luis), Portugal to identify and analyse the factors that may lead to, or become obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy communities, focusing on solar photovoltaic projects. Southern Iberian Peninsula, and within it, the case study has one of the highest levels of global horizontal irradiation in Europe, with a high number of hours of daylight (2200 to 3000h in Iberian Peninsula) and high daily solar insolation (around 5000 W/m2/day). We assessed the potential for the production of photovoltaic solar energy in S. Luis based on the physical characteristics of the region and land use scenarios. An eligible area ranging between 762ha and 74ha was obtained, resulting in a production potential between 355GWh and 35GWh. Having this potential into account, a process involving local stakeholders was implemented, in order to understand the main benefits and obstacles to the creation of a renewable energy community in S. Luis. To achieve this, (i) a set of exploratory interviews with local stakeholders took place, in order to trace the socioeconomic profile for the inhabitants of S. Luis, as well as their individual perceptions on a renewable energy community and also (ii) a workshop with local key-stakeholders, allowing a broad discussion about the group perception of a cost-effective renewable energy community in S. Luis. The majority of the interviewed people stated that they could identify themselves with the vision of turning S. Luis into a renewable energy community by 2030. The main recognized benefits include mainly economic/financial reasons, such as obtaining electricity at a lower cost, and sociocultural ones such as the community’s empowerment. The main identified obstacles are also economic/financial ones, namely the high investment costs or high payback periods, and sociocultural, such as the lack of community spirit. Institutional obstacles like excessive bureaucracy were also identified. The workshop allowed a broader discussion while reassured the individual benefits and obstacles, and emphasized that a REC would enhance the village’s cohesion and empowerment, notwithstanding recognizing a lack of willingness to be involved, the associated investment costs, and technical and institutional obstacles related to the creation and management of a community network. This work suggests that renewable energy communities might have a strong potential in the future, leading an energy transition that allows the access to energy in a more decentralized way allowing the engagement of local stakeholders in the process.
4b. Affordable and clean energy
