A new trend is emerging in Europe’s energy sector: Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). Groups of residents and businesses are jointly investing in building power stations and installing energy storage systems, then sharing the clean electricity.
Recently, the CER Civita Castellana Solare in Italy’s Lazio region announced the completion of its expansion: a new 1MW PV system and a 2MWh energy storage system are now officially operational, expected to generate approximately 1,500 MWh of clean electricity annually.
Power Sharing: More Than Just a Concept
This is also Italy’s first fully privately operated energy community project, initiated and constructed by the local company Ecocirioni Srl in 2021.
The CEO of Ecocirioni Srl stated: “With the commissioning of this 1MW photovoltaic plant, we have taken another crucial step towards realizing a truly efficient and sustainable energy community. This new facility builds upon the success achieved by the Renewable Energy Community (REC) to date and embodies our long-term vision: to provide clean, affordable, and locally produced energy for local residents and businesses.”
The community currently has 64 members: 48 are residents or businesses with rooftop PV, and 16 are consumption-only users.
PV owners feed surplus electricity into the community network, and all members receive benefits according to a sharing mechanism. Operational data shows that each member can save an average of 15–20% on electricity bills, with PV owners also earning additional income on top of their self-consumption savings.
Unlike the common cooperative model, Civita Castellana Solare is notably fully privatized. The funding comes not from external financing, but from reinvesting the money the community itself earns. The construction funds for this new 1MW power plant came entirely from the internal power generation revenue of the community. This indicates the project has formed a closed-loop, self-sustaining development capability.
Integrated PV-Storage for Efficient Self-Consumption
The entire system of this project utilizes SolarEdge DC optimization technology.
A power optimizer is installed under each panel, maximizing the output of individual modules. Even if some panels are shaded by trees or dust, others can maintain efficient operation.
This architecture eliminates the limitations of traditional series-parallel designs, allowing components on different roofs with different orientations to perform at their best.
Paired with the supporting 2MWh energy storage system, the community can: charge during the day when solar generation is high, and discharge in the evening. This increases the self-consumption ratio and reduces reliance on the grid, allowing them to avoid peak electricity prices and save even more money.
Furthermore, the system supports module-level monitoring and the SafeDC™ rapid shutdown function, ensuring safety for maintenance and emergency personnel.
Policy and Market Forces Combined
The Italian government’s REC Premium Tariff Scheme provides the economic foundation for this model. Electricity generated by the community not only receives the electricity price but also an additional subsidy. This enables the community not only to cover operation and maintenance costs but also to provide continuous dividends to its members.
Another portion of the revenue is used to expand the power plant and upgrade storage equipment in future projects. This allows such a community to truly function effectively, creating a positive cycle of technology and revenue.
Conditions for the premium tariff include:
- Renewable power plant capacity ≤ 1MW, must belong to the community or be part of a collective self-consumption scheme (CSC).
- Biomass and biogas plants can also apply but must meet additional requirements.
- Facilities must be grid-connected after the community is established.
The Civita Castellana Solare project is a model of “crowdfunding + co-construction” in the energy sector. It validates the feasibility of this model: local enterprise leadership + member investment and sharing + integrated PV-storage + policy support = a sustainable energy community model.
For residents, it’s not just about cheaper electricity; it’s about truly participating in the energy system. In the future, this model will likely become increasingly common in Europe, with community after community generating, storing, and using its own electricity, making the grid smarter and more “localized.”
