This SpringerBrief explores the evolution and potential of energy communities as grassroots, socio-political responses to climate change, highlighting European practices and examining their motivations, challenges, and role in advancing a clean energy transition.
Being a zoon politikon (a political animal), humankind first developed communities to harvest food, build shelter, and engage in socio-political interactions. Today, the term has evolved into a challenging yet promising concept for climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is widely acknowledged that community-based strategies serve as conduits for advancing clean and green energy, gaining traction among scientists and practitioners alike. This Brief aims to provide a clear picture of the phenomenon by focusing on key European practices and exploring their core insights. What, ultimately, is an energy community, and what motivates its actions? Building on these questions, the Brief highlights current research gaps and offers perspectives on how such communities are emerging despite their inherent complexity and multi-dimensional nature.
Introduction.- Mapping the knowledge of energy communities.
Stating-the-art.- Methods, materials, and tools of energy communities
management.- Portfolio and comparative analysis of European notable
examples.- Focus on Belgian Energy Communities.- Concluding remarks.- Next
steps and further investigation.-References/Bibliography.
Sesil Koutra is an Engineer in Urban Planning and Design and holds a PhD in the energy transition and autonomy at urban scales from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Mons. After a professional career in Greece and Belgium, she joined the University of Mons in 2015 as a PhD candidate and Lecturer in the Erasmus Mundus Program on Smart Cities and Communities (SMACCs). In 2020, she completed her doctoral studies, followed by postdoctoral research on the challenges of positive energy districts in collaboration with the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Since 2022, she has been a Research and Teaching Associate in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, with research interests in energy communities, teaching in urban planning topics (e.g., smart cities, urban networks), and a visiting scholar at the University of the Basque Country and TU Delft.
