Indicators and Representation Tools to Measure the Technical-Economic Feasibility of a Renewable Energy Community. The Case Study of Villar Pellice (Italy)

Abstract

Energy Communities (EC) are intended as legal entities that can ensure environmental, economic, and social benefits for energy exchanges between its members. The Italian legislation has recently introduced incentives to Renewable Energy Communities (REC). This work analyses the case study of the REC in Villar Pellice (Turin) and defines a methodology to assess its technical-economic feasibility. The hourly energy consumption and the local renewable energy production are assessed through a place-based methodology, considering different category of end users (municipalities, residential dwelling, companies), and obtaining data from available online database. The REC energy performance is assessed through the self-consumption and the self-sufficiency indexes. Besides, cost-optimal analysis evaluates its economic feasibility, considering investment costs and economic incentives. Several interventions are hypothesized to compare possible REC scenarios (e.g., photovoltaic panels and storage systems installation, energy efficiency measures for public lighting, and different configurations of end users). Results show that REC allows to aggregate stakeholders, ensuring economic advantages and environmental benefits. The methodology applied in this work can support the design phase of the RECs. Its flexibility makes it adaptable to different territorial and regulatory contexts, in evaluating the optimal REC configuration to maximize revenues from the incentive and reach the highest level of energy independence.

Evaluating Energy Communities: A New Social and Economic Model for Implementing the Ecological Transition

“…Community self-sufficiency and the self-consumption ratio are indicators most commonly identified [24][25][26][27] alongside other indicators more properly focused on environmental impact in terms of tons per year of avoided CO2, NOx and SO2 [28,29]. Other studies have also focused on the issue of identifying stakeholders as a determining factor in resolving the complexity of issues and needs related to each of them and to identify a multi-level energy performance analysis system, based on three different hierarchical levels -strategic, tactical and operational -and distributing KPIs among the different stakeholders in the system while maintaining their interdependence [30].…”

Techno Economic Analysis of Electric Vehicle Grid Integration Aimed to Provide Network Flexibility Services in Italian Regulatory Framework

“…Solution A* is the least advantageous from an economic point of view in all of the cases analyzed due to the increase in the rate of energy absorbed from the grid by the PCS which is not subject to tariff components exemptions. Therefore, in the case of prevalence of recharging by PCS, the inclusion of the PCS within an energy community could be particularly useful in order to recharge the EV as shared energy, benefiting from incentives provided [35] and reducing the recharge cost for the end-user. This additional incentive, which has not been considered in the analysis carried out (since it is currently not well regulated) can make solution A* even more economically attractive.…”

Design of Energy Communities and Data-Sharing: Format and Open Data

“…In recent years, decentralized energy production, also using renewable energy sources (RESs), has risen attention as a viable option to support energy transition, especially under the energy community (EC) paradigm. In ECs, citizens, small consumers, and public authorities can group together, collectively participate in common energy investments, jointly coordinate to align demand and consumption supported by decentralized energy assets, and promote a positive environmental and social impact on local communities [2]. Generally, to reach high levels of sustainability, ECs exploit distributed RESs, providing cost-effective clean energy to the participants, reducing energy losses and carbon emissions.…”