The activity presented in this report is part of a broader research project aimed at enhancing end-user participation in the transition process toward a low-carbon electrical system.

During the 2022-2024 RSE (Research on the Energy System) research cycle, RSE was tasked with initiating a monitoring campaign on collective self-consumption schemes and energy communities to assess the evolution of shared energy levels and the technical and economic impacts of these configurations on the national grid.

In 2022, RSE established an operational procedure for selecting 5 collective self-consumption configurations and 5 energy communities from those duly accredited by the GSE (Energy Services Manager). The operating procedure defines the requirements for the configurations to be monitored and the necessary information to initiate energy and network impact analyses based on the methodology developed this year.

The methodology for analyzing configurations involves an in-depth study of the energy consumption of the selected configurations, user awareness levels in sharing energy, and the systemic and economic impacts associated with the proliferation of these configurations across the national territory. Regarding grid impacts, this year’s research has focused on defining the analyses needed to assess whether renewable energy communities, located near primary substations, can reduce grid losses and congestion.

To perform analysis activities, the following tools have been developed: algorithms for calculating the energy and economic flow of REC, estimation of the increase in shared energy resulting from the adoption of load shifting or demand-side management measures, and finally, a load flow tool for assessing systemic impacts. The report provides details about the developed algorithms and examples of their use cases.

The Report is available on the Italian site