Explores what an energy community can offer beyond sharing PV among members. Defines Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) under EU regulation, then unpacks how energy sharing actually works in practice (metering, interval data, settlement, grid tariffs, regulatory limits). Presents the wider toolbox a community can deploy to create more value: technical levers such as community batteries, demand response and flexibility, thermal/heat networks, EV and mobility hubs, and renovation/retrofits; and social/economic levers such as member-level energy audits and collective purchasing (PV, lighting, heat pumps). Closes with the operational essentials of running an EC well — legal form and bylaws, decision-making and conflict-of-interest policies, risk and insurance, the member journey, documentation, and the move from volunteers to paid staff.
