More than twenty rural municipalities in Galicia are collaborating in the European EC4RURAL project to create energy communities, and their representatives met the 28th December with the project’s partners. The municipalities will participate in the pilot programme for the next 4 years to define energy community models adapted to each local reality.
The municipalities will participate as “external collaborators” and the case studies are Mazaricos, Moeche, Monterroso, Ordes, Outes, Tordoia, Vedra and Vilasantar, in the province of A Coruña; Avión, Entrimo and Muíños, in the province of Ourense; Becerreá, Muras, Ourol, Palas de Rei, A Pobra do Brollón, Sober and O Valadouro in the province of Lugo; and O Rosal, Salvaterra de Miño, Silleda and Tomiño in the province of Pontevedra.
In September 2022, FEGAMP (EC4RURAL partner) sent an open invitation to the 262 rural municipalities of Galicia to join the project and become protagonists in the transition to clean energy through Energy Communities. To achieve this change, the active collaboration of local residents and groups of local organisations will be sought, explained Xavier Simón, EC4RURAL coordinator and UVigo professor.
It is predicted that the first energy communities will start operating in September 2025, the date from which consumers will become “prosumers”, since they will not only be able to consume, but also to store, share or sell the excess energy generated.
EC4RURAL is a European project with a budget of 1.6 million euros, to be implemented in several phases over the period 2023-2027, with the aim of transforming the relationship between local and regional authorities and rural communities in order to contribute to the transition to conscious consumption of clean energy, ensuring that rural areas are not left behind in a change of model that is essential in the current climate scenario.
