The Role of Renewable Energy Communities in the Sustainable Urban Development

Economic, social, and environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly important in territorial development policies in Europe and internationally. Among the sustainable development goals, the theme of the energy transition is particularly important, which translates not only into a move away from energy from fossil fuels in favor of renewable ones but also into an improvement in energy efficiency linked to energy production and greater awareness of energy consumption by citizens. To achieve a paradigm of sustainable development, combating the problem of resource scarcity and biodiversity loss, as well as the unsustainability of today’s consumption and production systems, the Renewable Energy Communities (CER) can be a suitable model to support urban space redevelopment projects. Actions that aim to recover the pre-existing building heritage to give new life to abandoned areas are increasingly necessary for the protection of the environment. This encourages the propensity to act responsibly, promoting virtuous circles for the territories and communities of reference. This work aims to analyse and understand the actual benefits of the Renewable Energy Communities model for sustainable urban development. An additional aim is to consider Renewable Energy Communities as criteria for identifying industrial areas to convert or redevelop into sustainable industrial areas (SIAs) through a logical-mathematical approach.