Energy production and sharing within the framework of so-called energy communities brings several advantages. They are already common practice in some EU countries, and soon the legislative framework enabling energy self-sufficiency will be adopted in the Czech Republic. The conference on modern energy connected with the Hackathon, organized by Impact Hub and E.On, showed what shared energy can bring to individuals, municipalities and the state.
Energy communities (EC) are associations of individuals or higher units and municipalities that jointly participate in the production of electricity or heat. The user is no longer just a consumer, but also a producer and owner of energy. Martin Ander from the Association of Modern Energy summarized the benefits of such sharing for the conference participants.
"Energy communities provide protection against rising energy prices, strengthen energy security and independence, use renewable energy sources, support the local economy, help protect the environment and, last but not least, strengthen grid stability.", said Martin Ander.
They generate their own electricity
In the Netherlands, there is the Zeewolde Community Wind Farm, consisting of 91 new wind turbines with an output of up to 350 MW. It involves about 200 landowners and about 200 local residents. It is the largest community-owned power plant in the world. Also the Dutch Zonnepanelen Delen. It has over 9.000 shareholders, already includes over 1 panels and the investment can be arranged online.
The community power plants in Vienna also operate on a participatory basis – you can purchase a share certificate for as little as EUR 1.000 and receive a regular return in the form of payment or services. The generally falling purchase prices of PV and other technologies can significantly accelerate the development of community and municipal initiatives. However, the energy or heat produced must also be distributed, stored, or resold in some way; the expected legislative changes alone are not enough to successfully implement energy communities in our country. Despite these complications, the first swallows are already appearing here.
Czechs want it too
The ENERKOM association was founded in the Opava region this year. The Local Action Group Opavsko (MAS Opavsko) is using it to develop its VENUS project, i.e. the vision of an energy-efficient region. The main idea is that “the cleanest energy is the one we do not consume and the cheapest is the one we do not have to buy”. In a press release, ENERKOM states that more than 52 MWp of renewable energy sources could be installed in the Opava region (60 municipalities and 2030 thousand inhabitants) by 60. “Our goal will be to produce electricity or heat from local renewable sources and consume the largest possible share of the energy produced as close to the source as possible, i.e. in the energy community,” Jiří Krist explained in a statement. Ander adds that it is ideal to involve different types of sources and different types of customers so that the relationship between production and consumption is as balanced as possible. And the plan from the Opava region is already spreading further: in September, the ENERKOM Jablunkovsko initiative was also created.
But that's not all. In May this year, Deník.cz drew attention to other efforts towards municipal self-sufficiency. According to the editorial staff, "160 municipalities in the Czech Republic now have their own source, the vast majority of which are photovoltaic power plants. However, three municipalities generate electricity from wind, even though the investment in such a project amounts to about 120 million crowns." Deník also published the results of a study by the EGÚ Brno company: "According to this study, the potential for using these energy sources is much higher. The company calculated that municipalities and apartment buildings in the Czech Republic could obtain about four gigawatts of electricity from the sun alone by 2040. For comparison: the Temelín nuclear power plant has an output of just over two gigawatts."
Homeowners' Association at attention
The chairman of the Association of Czech and Moravian and Silesian Residential Building Owners, Jan Eisenreich, confirmed that residential building owners are increasingly asking about renewable sources and energy sharing. A survey by the Association of Czech and Moravian and Silesian Residential Building Owners, to which over 500 of its members responded, shows that 36% of respondents are considering using PV for an apartment building.
The main thing is waiting for the amendment to the Energy Act, the approval of which is expected by January 1, 1. According to Laura Otýpková from Frank Bold, it is still necessary to negotiate adequate discounts on distribution, which is a requirement under EU law, as well as to reduce the enormous administrative burden on energy communities.
Other open questions were raised by the audience: In what proportion will electricity be distributed in units? What will be the purchase parameters and agreements with smaller and larger distributors? How will production, consumption and storage be measured? Some answers can be sought abroad, others are managed by interested institutions.
Hackaton
However, the weekend hackathon following Friday's conference produced five relevant application proposals that can speed up and facilitate the implementation of communities. The working teams created solutions that will help individual owner associations consider the economic benefits of joining the community and will display production, consumption and other data in practice for the orientation of energy community participants.
"Creating the task and unifying the idea of the result or style of the evaluation was challenging. It all took months of preparation, research, questions and meetings. But the resulting three-day event was worth it. The hackathon turned out to be a functional model for solving various problems and for developing the services that EO.N and EG.D need. We were able to involve both the wider public and experts, as well as a jury consisting of potential customers," concludes Ondřej Durkáč, coordinator of the entire event.
The conference and hackathon on modern energy took place from October 21st to 23rd in Impact Hub BrnoThe event was organized by Impact Hub and the companies E.GD and E.On. Do you also want to organize a public event, hackathon or tailor-made partnership? Let us know about yourself.
