Economic incentives for renewable energy communities. A scenario analysis in the transition process between the experimental and definitive italian policy framework

Renewable Energy Communities are experiencing a period of strong growth throughout Europe. The available data indicate, however, that the growth rate of these entities in the different member states varies greatly depending on the economic policies implemented. Not only the number of contributions made available, but also and above all the modalities and bureaucratic simplification play a crucial role in the long-term sustainability of these bottom-up initiatives. In this article, the case of the new incentive schemes implemented in Italy as a result of the transposition of the European Renewable Energy Directive II was analyzed. Decree no. 414 of the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security published on 23.01.2024 was examined to assess its potential and possible hidden barriers compared to the experimental one. Different scenarios were simulated by varying the variables contained in the formulas determining the incentives available to Renewable Energy Communities to understand which configurations could benefit most and which were at risk of being left behind. Results indicate how, as the price of energy sales increases, the new decree may be detrimental to communities, benefiting only investor members, and how, as the plant size varies, southern Italian regions may be disadvantaged by the new incentive scheme compared to those in the north.