Legal Frameworks Enabling Not for Profit and Decentralised Renewable Energy Communities. Cases from the EU & ECOWAS

The article explores the energy transition in the EU and Africa. It deepens the research hypothesis of whether a commons-based approach can be an effective strategy to ensure energy justice and energy poverty. This article therefore aims to explore the potential of community-led energy initiatives, such as energy communities. It then focuses on the European Union and ECOWAS, to open a vision of the North and South of the world, analyzing their energy policies and deepening through an empirical analysis three case studies as virtuous examples of not profit renewable energy production at the local level: Middelgrunden Offshore Windmill Cooperative, in Denmark, Melpignano Cooperative, in Italy and Bboxx Energy, in Togo. In comparing case studies developed by different countries, the paper attempts to draw out whether the EU has succeeded so far in putting in place enabling frameworks that are adapted to the needs of local communities in addressing energy poverty.