Challenges and Lessons Learned in the Implementation of Regional-Scale PV Energy Community in Spain

This article presents the experience accumulated over two and a half years in the design, creation, and implementation of a large-scale regional renewable energy community in a rural area covering 2,500 km² in northern Spain. The implementation of this energy community has faced numerous barriers and challenges, including those stemming from rural depopulation and aging, legal limitations in the establishment of energy communities, technological innovation, and financing issues. The main barriers encountered and the lessons learned by this experience are listed and described, grouped into five categories, with the aim of sharing them to contribute to the creation of a new paradigm in the implementation of bottom-up initiatives with real local impact.