Reggio Emilia, the energy community born from the building cooperative arrives

A renewable energy community born from the transformation of a historic building cooperative. It was presented in Castellarano (Reggio Emilia), and is called 'Luigi Viappiani Sc': it is the first operational in this area and will grow over time, welcoming new members. The operation is the result of a process that began in 2023, which involved the Viappiani cooperative (its members are the founders) as well as the municipal administration, technical and industrial entities and the Emilia Romagna Region.

The presentation was also attended by the vice-president of the Region, with responsibility for energy, Vincenzo Colla: 'The Cer of Castellarano is a tangible example of how virtuous cooperation between local authorities and businesses can bring social and territorial value to the energy transition and create new synergies between the public and private sectors that make development sustainable and resilient, because it is rooted in the values of cooperation and identity of our region,' he said. Emilia-Romagna was the first to make an ad hoc promotion law: "It has been supporting the development and growth of communities since 2022, with its own dedicated law and participation in the Regional Table for RECs, and has activated a series of funding calls for their establishment and for the development of renewable energy plants. The results achieved make Emilia-Romagna a European leader in the area of RES. This is why we are continuing with a new call for proposals that will be published by the end of the year and will finance new projects such as the one in Castellarano," he added.

Here, the municipality has granted the right to use the surfaces of two public building roofs (the Giovanni XXIII secondary school and the Casa Aperta civic centre in the Parco dei Popoli) on which two photovoltaic systems of 99.88 kW each will be installed, for a total estimated annual production of about 237,000 kWh. Thanks to this it will benefit from the energy for its own utilities and receive a contribution of 147,550 euro from the surface right. "The entry of the Municipality of Castellarano into Cer, unanimously sanctioned by the Municipal Council on 10 June, represents an essential step in the construction of a private-public model that, to date, is among the first on the national scene," explained Cer president Andrea Serri.

"We have demonstrated once again that it is indeed possible as well as valuable to team up between public and private, between local authorities and businesses, to generate positive impacts on the entire community," remarked the mayor of Castellarano and president of the province of Reggio Emilia Giorgio Zanni. "This experience," Serri continued, "demonstrates that concrete models of ecological transition, capable of involving schools, citizens and businesses, can also be born from the territories and from the protagonism of our municipalities, creating real value.

In Emilia Romagna, according to Gse data updated on 30 November, there are 76 Cer, with 9.1 MW of power and a number of associated customers of 541.