News
The Brač conclusions: Practical Pathways to Energy Communities
by Sandra Vlasić, ZEZ Green Energy Cooperative
Energy Communities in Practice: a legal framework is necessary, but not sufficient
The international conference “Energy Communities in Practice”, held on 24 and 25 September in Bol on the island of Brač, brought together representatives of the European Commission, Croatian ministries, regulators, operators and local communities. Through dialogue and by listening to different perspectives and possibilities, the aim was to turn the existing legal framework into practical implementation that enables energy communities to be established, share energy and operate sustainably over the long term.
“A legal framework is necessary, but not sufficient. Grid connection, access to finance and local capacities are key,” said Aida Liha Matejiček from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). “This conference is a good example of the partnership and cooperation between institutions needed to achieve Europe’s energy community objectives.”
The European Union is placing significant emphasis on citizens' participation and energy communities in the local energy transition. The 2026 EU Citizens Energy Package envisages a tenfold increase in installed renewable energy capacity owned by energy communities by 2030: from the current 9 GW to around 90 GW, which could provide renewable electricity to 25 - 30 million households.
Making this happen requires more than legislation
Ascanio Troiani from DG REGIO stressed that Member States must actively remove barriers and create the conditions for energy communities to function in practice. Procedures need to be simplified, access to the grid must be ensured, and energy sharing needs to work not only on paper but also in real life. The Commission also recommends using cohesion funds more to develop energy communities and explicitly calls for more funding for the pre-development phase, when communities need the most support to turn an idea into a viable project.
The conference comes at an important time, as formal negotiations on National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) for 2028 - 2034 will begin over the next few months. These plans will provide a key basis for funding under the EU’s new financial framework. This is therefore the right moment to ensure that energy communities are included in these plans and given a more prominent place in future funding.
Bringing the (im)possible together around common interests and turning theory into practice
The energy transition requires cooperation, citizen participation and alignment between the interests of local communities and the market. It is necessary to identify common interests, bring different stakeholders together and test solutions in real-world conditions.
There are more than 8,000 active energy communities in the European Union, while only three are currently formally registered in Croatia, of which two are participating in the pilot phase of energy sharing. Several energy cooperatives are also active and operate in line with the principles of the European directive, but due to barriers in Croatian legislation, they cannot be recognized as energy communities and therefore cannot share energy.
The Croatian Registry of Associations includes a total of twelve organizations with “energy community” in their name, demonstrating that there is interest and providing hope that the number of formally recognized communities will grow. Some are members of the Croatian Energy Communities Forum, while for many others it is still unclear what exactly they are working on or what they intend to develop. These initiatives will require targeted support if they are to grow into successful and sustainable projects.
At the conference, members of the Croatian Energy Communities Forum presented their experiences with different models for developing citizen energy – from citizen investment in a shared power plant (ZEZ Sun) and cooperation between several cities and municipalities led by a Local Action Group (LAG SAVA), to island energy cooperatives (Apsyrtides), registered citizen energy communities and local projects developed around public rooftops (OTRA).
The first experiences of energy sharing among members of the Northern Adriatic Energy Community were also presented, alongside examples from Slovenia, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, including Solar School Hrastnik, the Greek Desmi coalition and models being developed as city-led initiatives in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Tivat (Montenegro).
Energy communities are a social concept
The conference showed that the system has started to move forward, but the key challenges remain: there is still a lack of clear and harmonized rules, a single point for reliable information is needed, initiatives require technical assistance and funding for the project preparation phase; and continuous coordination is needed between institutions, regulators, operators and local communities.
Establishing a national Citizen Energy Office, which would act as a national coordinator for cooperation between different institutions and serve as a knowledge base for practical experience, could significantly facilitate the process of establishing and developing energy communities.
It is important to emphasize that energy communities are not merely a new model of energy production; they are a tool for democratizing the energy system and strengthening local communities.
Since 2013, Green Energy Cooperative - ZEZ has been working to make it easier for citizens to participate in energy production simply and securely. The aim is not only to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, but also to change the way we produce, use, and share energy.
Although the legislative framework exists, implementation in practice is still lagging. It is therefore essential to maintain this dialogue, learn together from the practical experiences of the first projects being implemented, adapt models to Croatian local conditions and begin putting them into practice.
It should also not be forgotten that the primary objective of energy communities is not to maximize profit. Their purpose is to retain value locally, increase energy independence and create the greatest possible benefit for communities and the people who live in them.
