Advancing Energy Communities in Southeastern Europe: The SunSharing Project

Energy Communities (ECs) are promoted by European Union to play a key role in achieving the goal of a just energy transition with active participation of citizens. Many countries are adopting relevant European Directives and integrate ECs in their legislative framework. To this direction, this paper concentrates on analyzing the existing conditions around the establishment and the operation of ECs in southeastern European countries, mainly focusing on Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Although there is high potential for utilizing energy from renewable sources, especially solar energy, in these countries, the lack of adequate legislation on ECs and the lack of crowdfunding initiatives hinders the penetration of community-based photovoltaic systems. In the context of SunSharing project, funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), in which these countries participate as partners, this study aims to provide good practice examples for ECs and crowdfunding initiatives that could inspire the further development of ECs and related energy projects.