Guidance hub

1. Initiation

The initiation phase allows promoters to become acquainted with the fundamentals of Energy Communities, gain insights from existing cases, and receive support in establishing their initial development concept.

You are just a few clicks away from understanding the basics of Energy Communities!

1.1. What is an Energy Community? Explore fundamentals

To create an energy community, it is fundamental to get familiar with the concepts of such initiative.

The user will get understandings and differentiate between   what an Energy Community is and what is not and will get as well clarifications on its most relevant concepts.

1.2. Examples of Energy Communities: Get inspired to aspire

Draw inspiration from existing energy community initiatives and aim to establish your own!

Access to various web databases providing examples of ECs is available. Many of these databases specialize in particular types of ECs, such as rural instances, social housing, islands, and more.

Moreover, identifying and reaching out to counterparts in similar geographic regions could foster future collaborations among ECs and facilitate mutual support.

• 1.2.1. EU energy communities Repository: EU main repository with real case examples of ECs
• 1.2.2. Rural energy community advisory Hub: Examples on rural energy communities.
• 1.2.3. Housing Evolutions Project: Online Database with examples, primarily related to social housing.
• 1.2.4. City stories Podcast: Variety of 30′ episodes on issues in ECs and case studies.
• 1.2.5. Clean energy for EU Islands: Episodes focused on island energy communities and their best practices.
• 1.2.6. Rescoop best practice Guide for Southeast Europe: Document with examples of case studies – with South East EU focus.
• 1.2.7. Building Municipal Power energy communities: mPower project displays diverse energy community cases and organisational structures.
• 1.2.8. Energifalleskaber DANMARK: Danish examples of energy communities being created.

1.3. Build up your initial idea- Wrap up your ideas and jump to the next stage

Creating a summary document that outlines the initial concepts suggested by the promoters’ group is a practical approach to begin discussions and establish preliminary agreements for the formation of the energy community. This document should cover essential elements such as the long-term vision, short and mid-term objectives, planned energy activities, and prospective participants. Moreover, it will aid in communicating and engaging with other important stakeholders like public administrators and potential investors, thus increasing their participation in the project.

• 1.3.1. 2 pager summary: Concise questionnaire to support you defining your project concept.
• 1.3.2. Introductory guide to EC for local authorities: Guide supporting how to make the first steps from a local authority perspective.

2. Design: Make a detailed Define a business plan: Funding, technology, costs & benefits

The design phase will allow users to develop a comprehensive and explicit business plan for the energy community, incorporating all the relevant elements, while also ensuring the active involvement of all stakeholders concerned.

2.1. Engagement and communication

Tools for active collaboration, co-creation and governance: energy communities are fundamentally based on the active participation of all stakeholders.

This process requires:

• Tools and methods for collective discussion and decision-making within the energy community. These tools aid in the co-creation and determination of the EC’s key elements.
• Appropriate engagement activities to attract and involve the correct stakeholders in the project, including future partners and customers of the EC, financiers, and local public administration.
• Mechanisms to ensure the stakeholders’ active participation, both in the design phase and in the future governance structure of the EC.

Subsequently, some pertinent documents that promote methods and tools for the collective definition of the energy community and the engagement strategies will be presented.

• 2.1.1. Stakeholder Engagement Guide COMPLIE Project: Guide to Identify of key actors, define responsibilities and   create communication and coordination strategies from COMPILE project.
• 2.1.2. Stakeholder Engagement Guidebook DECIDE Project: Coherent summary of approaches and tools to communication, information, and intervention campaigns.
• 2.1.3. Active Governance Energy Cities: How local authorities can encourage citizen participation in energy transitions.

2.2. Create your Business Plan: Develop your business plan from Beckon’s template! 

The advancement of an energy community largely hinges on the creation of a sound and coherent business plan. This plan must take into account the fundamental topics of an energy community and outline the principal decisions and agreements established via participatory processes.

2.3. Examples of Business Plans

The LIFE BECKON business plan template is not the sole resource available! You can also consult the various documents and guidelines provided in this section for additional support in crafting your business plan. Feel free to choose the material that best fits your requirements:

• 2.3.1. EUCF Investment concept template: Develop your business plan and get investment funds for energy communities.
• 2.3.2. LECo Business development model: Your step-by-step starting point for developing business plans.

• 2.4.1.1. Enabling the regulatory framework of ECs: Legal components, regulatory transposition  and obstacles hindering EC initiatives in Bulgaria, Denmark and Spain.
• 2.4.1.2. Legal and regulatory – Focus on Bulgaria: Concise report on regulatory context in Bulgaria.
• 2.4.1.3. Legal and regulatory – Focus on Denmark: Concise report on regulatorylegal context in Denmark.
• 2.4.1.4. Legal and regulatory – Focus on Spain: Concise report on regulatorylegal context in Spain.
• 2.4.1.5. European Energy Communities Facility: Energy Communities Policy Framework for each country: This site provides descriptions of the policy framework and legal context for each country in 2025.

2.4.2. Selection of Type of Legal Entity: Describe your energy community by defining its type of legal entity and potential activities.

This section helps describing the energy community by defining the types of legal entities and the potential activities of the EC:

• 2.4.2.1. Selection of suitable legal entities: Choose your legal entity type: cooperative, foundation, association or commercial. Learn the steps to implement them.
• 2.4.2.2. Energy communities: an Overview. A European concise report for you describing different types of legal entities by JRC.

2.4.3. Potential activities of ECs: Discover the range of activities that an energy community may undertake and leverage the most in your case!

2.4.4. Financing Models for ECs: Learn how to finance your energy community via our selection of documents.

This section offers several documents addressing the way Energy Communities could be financed:

• 2.4.4.1. BECKON Funding models: Choose your funding model: financing, subsidies, crowdfunding, crowdlending and more!
• 2.4.4.2. Funding basics for EC: Learn about the funding basics for an energy community and increase your chance to fund yours!
• 2.4.4.3. COME RES novel financing instruments: Learn about the funding options and useful programs for 8 different EU countries.
• 2.4.4.4. Guide for EU funding opportunities: Know about the opportunities and programs across the EU and the variety of financial models.
• 2.4.4.5. Ecrowd! crowdfunding platform: Discover a real crowdfunding platform for socila and environmental initiaitves

2.4.5. Idendification of Support Programs: Your gate for the energy community programs and the solar PV installations. 

These resources summarizes programs for ECs as well as for solar PV installations:

• 2.4.5.1. BECKON Financial Support – Bulgaria: List of available financial support programs in Bulgaria.
• 2.4.5.2. BECKON Financial Support – Denmark: List of available financial support programs in Denmark.
• 2.4.5.3. BECKON Financial Support – Spain: List ofThe available financial support programs in Spain.

2.4.6. Feasibility of the Project: Calculate the feasibility of your energy community via selection of tools assembled for you!

Following resources facilitates tools for calculating the feasibility of the ECs:

• 2.4.6.1. CSOP calculator: Easy-to-use online tool for evaluating the economic viability of PV energy projects and loans repayment.
• 2.4.6.2. Economic Calculation tool: Spreadsheet to assess the viability of PV, wind, cogeneration and energy efficiency projects.
• 2.4.6.3. CARES toolkit: Finance tools to get the investments’ overview of energy community projects.
• 2.5.6.3. Template for the economic feasibility: CARES finance model (Excel template to be tailored).

2.4.7. Evaluation: Secure the techno economic feasibility of your energy community, and identify the strengths and weaknesses, among other topics.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses:

• 2.4.7.1. BECKON SWOT and PESTLE: Identify internal and external factors to better plan and navigate EC challenges.
• 2.4.7.2. BECKON ESAP: Plan ahead to identify environmental and social issues for your project.
• 2.4.7.3. Monitoring and evaluation: Ensure your succes plan, manage and evaluate your project!

3. Implementation: Define statutes and install infrastructure – make your project real!

The implementation phase will allow users to formally establish their energy communities, including the generation of all essential official documents for the entities and the contracting of all necessary services and products through a procurement process.

3.1. Statutes and constitution: Create your statutes, constitute your energy community.

This section helps create the legal entity and provides examples of statutes and funding acts. It is important to note that each Member State has different legal requirements for these legal entities.  Still, most of them will have similar structures and conditions.

• 3.1.1. Life – Beckon selection of suitable legal entity: Take your steps for creating your legal entity! This checklist is provided for you based on Spanish EC cases!
• 3.1.2. Example of EC Statutes (SP): 2 examples (Cooperative and Associations) of Statute templates for energy communities with a Template for the Funding Act for Spain are assembled for you!
• 3.1.3. Example of statutes (SP) Suelo Solar: Statutes for different types of legal entities were assembled for you in one website! In addition, other very relevant documents related to the solar installation such as grid permission documents, collective self-consumption coefficients, etc. are provided..
• 3.1.4. Example of Statute Templates (DK): Association and cooperative examples in pages 119 – 134.

3.2. Support for Procurement: Acquire your assets with no obstacles.

4. Operation: Maintain & improve your energy community – Explore new opportunities.

Once the energy community is established, it is crucial to ensure the proper functioning of the legal entity and the energy projects developed by the EC.

It is important to remember that many energy community projects fail in the initial years of operation! To prevent this, having the appropriate tools for operation and preparing for potential changes within the energy community is essential. It will be also crucial to decide whether you need or not external support for the operation of the EC, either in the operation of the legal entity (payments, meetings, etc) or in the technical operation of the installations (generation consumption monitoring, energy pricing, , etc.

4.1. Plan the operation of the energy community: An EC’s operation plan considers legal and project developments.

The operation plan of an energy community should take into consideration the developments on the legal entity as well as on the energy projects. At the energy community level, the yearly financial results of the energy community will need to be tracked.

The operation and maintenance of the energy projects. The LIFE BECKON project offers tools and materials to support  Solar Collective Self Consumption project maintenance and financial outlook.

4.2. Modification and termination:  The EC is a dynamic project, with potential changes in projects and participant integration or exit.

The energy community is an ongoing project, subject to potential modifications in the projects under development and the integration or departure of participants. Consequently, it is crucial to anticipate possible new scenarios and prepare accordingly, including planning for various contingencies and adapting governance structures to changes. Subsequently, a document will be presented that takes into account these changes and even the possibility of the project’s termination.