The European Court of Auditors says in a new report that EU policies supporting energy communities are progressing slowly and that the bloc’s goal of establishing one renewable energy community in every municipality with more than 10,000 residents by 2025 is unlikely to be met.
EU efforts to scale energy communities are advancing more slowly than policymakers expected, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. The study assessed whether EU policy and national frameworks are creating the conditions needed for energy communities to contribute to the bloc’s climate-neutrality goal for 2050.
The auditors found that only 27% of EU municipalities with more than 10,000 residents had at least one renewable energy community by early 2025. Deployment varies widely across countries: the Netherlands and Denmark exceed 80%, while Italy stands at roughly 3% to 4%.
The report also highlights a gap between earlier policy expectations and actual deployment. A 2016 impact assessment for the Renewable Energy Directive II assumed energy communities could account for 21% of EU solar PV capacity and 17% of wind capacity by 2030. More recent estimates suggest a more realistic contribution of around 4% for both technologies.
Across the audited countries – Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania – the contribution of energy communities to national renewable capacity remains limited. In Italy and Poland the share amounts to only fractions of a percentage point, while in the Netherlands it reaches roughly 1% to 3%.
The court also identified regulatory and governance challenges. EU legislation distinguishes between renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities under separate directives, but overlapping definitions and differing eligibility criteria have produced divergent national frameworks.
Implementation of EU rules remains incomplete. By July 2025 only Italy had fully transposed the relevant provisions of both directives, while Poland and Romania had yet to fully adopt the Renewable Energy Directive requirements. The European Commission has opened infringement procedures but has not referred the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The report notes that the EU target of establishing at least one renewable energy community in every municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants was not based on a quantitative assessment. According to the auditors, the objective lacks clear metrics and is difficult to monitor because it does not specify which types of entities should count toward the target.
Administrative complexity and grid constraints remain major operational barriers. In parts of the Netherlands, grid connection delays for community projects can reach three years, while projects in Poland may wait about 10 months.
Financial incentives vary across countries. Support mechanisms in Italy, the Netherlands and Poland generally allow community projects to achieve payback periods below 10 years, while Romania lacks targeted subsidies, limiting the creation of new initiatives.
The court recommends clarifying legal definitions, improving monitoring systems and incorporating energy communities more systematically into national energy and climate plans. Additional measures include expanding support for storage and flexibility services and strengthening policies to involve vulnerable households.
While the auditors say energy communities are unlikely to reach the scale once envisioned for Europe’s energy transition, they remain important for improving public acceptance of renewable projects and expanding citizen participation in clean energy.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content
Source link