28.08.2026 | ECOEMPOWER consortium members at the ESA conference on How are Energy Communities changing across Europe?
How are Energy Communities changing across Europe?
The European Sociological Association (ESA) conference in Warsaw, research carried out within the context of LIFE ECOEMPOWER was presented on the changing business models of Energy Communities across Europe.
Drawing on a comparative qualitative study covering France, Germany, Italy, Greece and the Czech Republic, the research shows that Energy Communities are entering a new phase of development. Energy Communities are no longer only about collectively owning and producing renewable electricity. As energy systems become more decentralised, digitalised and market-oriented, their activities are expanding towards energy sharing, storage, flexibility, demand-side management, e-mobility and integrated energy services.
This transformation is also changing who makes Energy Communities work. Citizen groups, municipalities and cooperatives increasingly interact with energy agencies, consultants, developers, suppliers, aggregators and digital service providers. Energy Communities are therefore becoming part of broader and more complex socio-technical ecosystems. This creates both opportunities and challenges. Professionalisation and specialised expertise can help Energy Communities navigate increasingly complex regulatory, technical and market environments. At the same time, growing dependence on commercial actors, intermediaries and digital platforms raises important questions about citizen participation, community control and the distribution of value.
The research points to a broader transformation: Energy Community business models are gradually moving from being primarily asset-based— centred on renewable generation and ownership — towards becoming increasinglycoordination-based, where value also comes from managing, sharing, storing and shifting distributed energy resources.
For ECOEMPOWER, these findings reinforce an important message: supporting Energy Communities means more than enabling renewable generation. It also means building the capacities, partnerships and governance arrangements that allow communities to remain inclusive, participatory and community-oriented as the energy system becomes more complex.
The study was presented by Aurore Dudka, together with research by Nuria Moratal and Matteo d’Andrea, under the title "Reconfiguring Energy Community Business Models in Europe: Hybridisation, Professionalisation and Emerging Forms of Value Creation.”
The work contributes to the wider objectives of LIFE ECOEMPOWER, supporting the development and empowerment of Energy Communities across Europe.
