This report presents a set of national roadmaps developed within the Life COMET project, outlining how community energy coalitions can support the growth, resilience, and long-term integration of energy communities in Europe.

Based on in-depth country analysis and stakeholder engagement, the report explores how national coalitions are responding to common barriers faced by energy communities; such as limited grid access, administrative complexity, financing constraints, and insufficient institutional recognition. While national contexts differ, the roadmaps reveal shared challenges and converging strategies to mitigate risk, build capacity, and enable community-led initiatives to play a meaningful role in the energy transition.

By combining country-specific trajectories with a cross-cutting European perspective, this report provides both practical guidance and strategic insight for organisations working to strengthen community energy ecosystems.

Focus - Zeleni Hrastnik Energy cooperative - 2nd project - March 2025 (c)Matjaž Kirn
Focus - Zeleni Hrastnik Energy cooperative - 2nd project - March 2025 (c)Matjaž Kirn

What's inside?

The report is structured around three main components:

Country-specific roadmaps

The core of the report consists of seven national roadmaps (Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia). Each roadmap outlines how national community energy coalitions are being established or strengthened, detailing their priorities, actions and development pathways across three time horizons: 

  • short term (end of 2025),
  • mid term (end of 2026)
  • and long term (five-year outlook).

These roadmaps provide a structured overview of objectives, milestones and risks, offering a practical planning framework tailored to each national context while illustrating different models of coalition-building in Central and Eastern Europe.

Common challenges and risk mitigation

Building on the country analysis, the report identifies shared barriers faced by energy communities across contexts — including grid constraints, administrative complexity, limited access to tailored financing and insufficient institutional recognition.

It examines how coalitions mitigate these risks by acting as intermediaries between grassroots initiatives and public authorities, pooling expertise, diversifying support models, engaging early with system operators and combining policy advocacy with internal capacity-building. Risk mitigation is presented as a dual effort: improving external conditions while strengthening internal resilience.

Monitoring, evaluation and adaptation

Beyond planning and risk management, the report highlights the importance of measuring impact and ensuring long-term sustainability. Success is framed not only in terms of installed capacity or number of communities, but also through broader indicators such as participation, governance quality, financial stability and inclusion.

The report also emphasises feedback loops and iterative adaptation. Effective coalitions operate as learning organisations, adjusting their strategies in response to policy shifts, funding cycles and evolving energy systems, while remaining anchored in their social mission.