Titolo della tesi: Renewable Energy Communities as Socio-Technical Systems: Integrating Policy, Technology, and Collective Behaviour in the Energy Transition
Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have emerged as one of the most promising instruments for achieving the European Union’s decarbonization objectives and for promoting a fair, inclusive, and locally grounded energy transition. Their establishment within the framework of the Clean Energy Package has introduced a new paradigm in which citizens, local authorities, and small enterprises are empowered to collectively produce, consume, and manage renewable energy. However, the implementation of RECs across Europe remains uneven, constrained by heterogeneous national transpositions, fragmented incentive schemes, and significant socio-technical challenges. This thesis addresses these gaps by investigating how policy, technological, and social dimensions interact to shape the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of RECs, with a particular focus on the Italian context as a European front runner in community energy deployment.
The research pursues a central question: How can Renewable Energy Communities evolve from mere collective self-consumption schemes into transformative instruments that align technical performance, economic fairness, and social empowerment? To answer this overarching question, three complementary research questions were formulated: (1) how do national and European policy frameworks influence the development of RECs and their capacity to deliver equitable incentives? (2) what are the main technical and operational configurations that can enhance self-consumption and shared energy performance at community level? and (3) how do behavioural, social, and organizational factors contribute to the success and resilience of community-based energy systems?
To address these questions, the thesis adopts an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar methodological approach. The policy dimension is examined through a comparative review of European and national frameworks, with a specific focus on the Italian legislative evolution from experimental to definitive incentive schemes. The technical dimension is analyzed through the case study of the Renewable Energy Community of Ventotene island, using real high-resolution consumption data and simulation tools such as pyRES to model photovoltaic sizing, sector coupling, and the integration of deferrable loads, notably the island’s desalination system. The behavioural and governance dimension is investigated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model that simulates demand-side flexibility scenarios and evaluates how different levels of member engagement and investment access influence the economic and energetic performance of the community. Finally, the social dimension is explored through the assessment of community services and engagement mechanisms within Italian RECs, based on field interviews, empirical observations, and the construction of multidimensional indicators (economic, social, and environmental).
The results of the technical and modelling analyses demonstrate that sector coupling—specifically the integration of renewable generation with desalination—significantly improves self-consumption rates and grid stability in isolated systems. The findings confirm that flexible loads can act as a functional substitute for energy storage, providing a cost-effective means to absorb production surpluses and reduce reliance on fossil-fuel generators. Moreover, optimization scenarios on the Ventotene REC show that demand-side flexibility, when combined with equitable internal agreements, substantially enhances shared energy and collective revenues. However, excessive emphasis on individual optimization may lower the overall benefits for the community, underscoring the importance of balanced governance and redistribution mechanisms.
The social analysis reveals that RECs can generate value that extends well beyond the energy domain. By reinvesting shared incentives into community-oriented services—such as training programs, maintenance schemes, or support for vulnerable households—RECs can foster inclusion, trust, and long-term engagement. The multidimensional indicator framework developed in this study illustrates that even small-scale RECs, when guided by participatory governance and transparent management, can achieve high social and environmental returns. This aligns with the observation that smaller communities tend to exhibit stronger territorial embeddedness, higher levels of cooperation, and greater capacity for energy education compared to large-scale, top-down configurations.
The Italian case was chosen not only for its pioneering legislative framework but also for the availability of empirical data that enables a detailed techno-economic and social analysis. The European comparison, addressed in the policy chapter, contextualizes the Italian experience within the broader continental framework, revealing both its strengths—such as the clarity of incentive mechanisms—and its limitations, including administrative complexity and regional disparities. Together, these insights contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how national choices influence the scalability and social legitimacy of RECs across Europe.
From a scientific perspective, the thesis advances an integrated conceptualization of Renewable Energy Communities as socio-technical ecosystems that operate at the intersection of policy, technology, and social innovation. The interdisciplinary methodology provides a replicable framework for future analyses, capable of linking quantitative modeling with qualitative evaluation. From a practical perspective, the findings offer guidance for multiple stakeholders: policymakers are encouraged to design equitable and flexible incentive structures; REC designers are advised to prioritize sector coupling and demand-side management strategies; and communities are urged to adopt participatory governance models that foster awareness, empowerment, and inclusion.
In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates that the long-term sustainability of Renewable Energy Communities relies on their capacity to simultaneously achieve technical optimization, economic fairness, and social cohesion. By integrating these dimensions, RECs can become not only efficient energy systems but also laboratories for social innovation and democratic participation in the energy transition. Future research should expand on these results by including additional energy vectors such as thermal energy, diversifying the renewable mix with sources like wind and biomass, and conducting comparative analyses on behavioral and demand-side dynamics across different European contexts. Such advancements will be essential to fully harness the transformative potential of community-based energy systems in achieving a just, resilient, and decentralized energy future for Europe.