Collective Self-Consumption in the European Union
In November 2016, the European Union Commission announced its Winter Package: Clean Energy for All Europeans, a set of eight proposals that aims to transition the continent to a clean energy economy while actively engaging citizens in the process. One component of the package is that Member States must allow their citizens to participate in collective selfconsumption of renewable electricity, in which electricity consumers are able to collectively produce and consume their own renewable energy without facing discriminatory conditions or procedures that may preclude their participation in such a scheme. This was set into law in 2018 when the Renewable Energy Directive of 2009 was recast, and Member States must include in their updated National Energy and Climate Plans for 2021-2030 how they will enable the formation of collective self-consumption in their country. This paper aims to analyze how five different EU Member States are enabling collective selfconsumption, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and make a recommendation for which approach works best and should be followed by other countries. The countries were selected based on which ones have already implemented a regulatory framework that supports a form of collective self-consumption. Spain, Greece, Slovenia, France, and Germany were chosen. The analysis first takes a look at the current energy and electricity situation in each country and then provides an overview of the National Energy and Climate Plans for 2021-2030. This sets the stage to compare each country's legislation regarding collective self-consumption, such as the proximity requirements, size restrictions, Collective formation, administrative components, technical requirements, and the economics of self-consumed and surplus electricity. Finally, the paper discusses the limitations and barriers of each country's approach and, based on the entire analysis and literature review performed, recommends best practices for Member States to consider when drafting and updating their collective self-consumption legislation.