Energy Communities: online portals to apply for incentives launched. Here's how to apply

They are fully operational the portals for requesting subsidies for energy communities envisaged by the decree signed by the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security and by the integrated text for widespread self-consumption developed by the Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment. Applications to be eligible for incentives for plants in self-consumption configurations can be submitted on the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (Gse) website. For configurations with project plants, the contact persons can request a preliminary check and ascertain their eligibility for the mechanism for diffuse self-consumption. In addition, for project installations located in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, one can apply for access to the capital contribution provided by the NRP.

As will be recalled, the Mase decree that came into force last 24 January provides for a twofold way to promote the development of RES: an incentive tariff for the entire country and a capital contribution of up to 40% of the expenses incurred in municipalities with less than five thousand inhabitants. Expenditure incurred for renewable source plants, including upgrades, are eligible for the contribution, and the plants must come into operation within 18 months from the date of admission to the contribution and in any case no later than 30 June 2026.

According to the decree, the incentives apply to renewable energy plants, including upgrades, whose maximum nominal power must not exceed one megawatt. To qualify for the incentives, the decree further clarifies, renewable energy communities must be duly established on the date the application for access to the incentives is submitted. On the other hand, companies in difficulty according to state aid regulations are excluded, as are companies against which a recovery order is pending as a result of a previous European Commission decision declaring the incentives received illegal and incompatible with the internal market. The period of entitlement to the incentive tariff starts from the date of commercial operation of the plant and is equal to 20 years.

Announcing the launch of the portals was Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin yesterday, speaking in Perugia at 'InsiemEnergia', the ministry's tour of Italy, together with the Gse and Unioncamere to promote Cer. "Today the Gse portals for accessing incentives on Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) go live: this is the step that many companies, administrations and groups of citizens have been waiting for. Now begins, to all intents and purposes, the turning point of the Cer'. With the RECs, the minister added, "people and territories become leading players in energy choices," Pichetto noted, "our decree can open up great opportunities for sustainable growth, especially in small municipalities that are dealing with the delicate problem of depopulation. In the Umbria region of villages, the environment and landscapes, but also in the areas hit by the earthquake in 2016, the Energy Communities,' Pichetto continued, 'represent a systemic response for a safe and sustainable supply.

"With the Renewable Energy Communities, we are witnessing a new model of electricity sharing that goes from being physical to virtual and that encourages the participation of consumers in the process of developing renewable energy sources,' explained Gse CEO Vinicio Vigilante yesterday after the launch of the portals. 'At the same time as the portals are being opened, we are carrying out, alongside Mase, an important information campaign to create awareness in the country about the social, environmental and economic benefits of the mechanism.