Challenges in energy communities. State of the art and future perspectives

Within the policy framework of the energy union strategy started in 2015, the Euro- pean Union (EU) finalized the “Clean Energy for all Europeans Package” (CEP) in 2019. It includes eight legislative texts concerning all the crucial aspects and primary actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve climate resilience effectively, and ultimately achieve a fair and unified energy transition. In this context, the EU overhauled the old Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC (named RED I) in December 2018, when the new Directive 2018/2001/EU entered into force. Commonly known as RED II [1], this new direc- tive revises the old EU targets for renewable energy sources (RESs) and energy efficiency in the post-2020 energy framework to the 2030 perspective, in line with the 2030 Energy and Climate Framework and the ambitious 2050 Long-Term Climate Neutrality Strategy. With strong inter-relatedness with other legislative texts of the CEP (e.g., the Electricity Market Directive), the RED II strives for a more secure, competitive, and sustainable energy system.