Fresh EU directives have spurred new legislation across the EU to expand citizen-owned energy projects. But collective renewables still bump up against the powerful forces of traditional utilities, grid operators, and conventional energy interests.  Paul Hockenos gives us the details. A new study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) on community renewable energy in Europe illustrates just how broadly the concept of citizen-owned energy services has been applied across the continent. As a result of the EU’s Clean Energy for All Europeans package, which confirmed that prosumers and their collective forms will play central roles in the energy systems of the future everywhere in the EU, new national legislation is currently being drawn up to make community energy possible in countries where it is hitherto unknown – and more sophisticated where it already exists. “Community renewables” or “citizen energy” are the labels for a broad palette of collective energy actions in which citizens and communities engage as partners in clean energy projects. In community energy, climate protection becomes a DIY endeavor. The traditionally … Continue reading Community Energy Projects Face Obstacles Despite New EU Directives