Communities promote renewable energy

You have surely heard about the growth of energy communities as a way to combat the climate emergency. These are urban or rural habitats, private citizens and non-profit associations that work cooperatively in order to fulfill the main objective: to achieve environmental, energy, social and economic benefits.

Gustavo Copelmayer believes that one of the characteristics of an energy-focused community is that it is autonomous and allows open and democratic participation of its members and voluntary participation to manage and control renewable energy projects, which are normally developed and launched by their own members. You may be wondering what the contribution of an energy-focused community versus traditional renewable energy companies is. Well, fundamentally it seeks to promote a community approach rather than a business one.

In the same manner, an energy-focused community creates investment opportunities for citizens and local businesses. It provides local communities with the ability to generate income that remains in the local economy to address the socio-economic needs of the community and invest in energy efficiency. Gustavo Copelmayer concludes that energy-focused communities will generate public acceptance of renewable energy and other clean energy technologies by allowing citizens to invest and participate in project decision-making.