Why Renewable Energy Communities Matter
Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are becoming an increasingly important part of Europe’s energy transition.
Based on open and voluntary participation, a REC enables residents, public authorities and businesses to produce, share and use renewable energy together, while generating environmental, economic, and social benefits for the local area.
Their value lies in turning renewable generation into a shared local asset. RECs can increase self-consumption, improve energy flexibility, and strengthen local energy autonomy. This is especially important in rural areas, which are often central to renewable energy generation but do not always turn that potential into local opportunities.
When supported by the right conditions, RECs can help make better use of local resources, reduce energy costs, encourage investment, and strengthen participation in the transition.
At the same time, they remain in complex systems to plan and manage. Different users, assets and decisions must be coordinated over time, and technical, economic, and organisational choices are closely linked. This is why Engreen’s work, as part of the Horizon Europe project EnergyGuard TEF Project, is particularly relevant.
It contributes to the development of a Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for RECs, where start-ups, SMEs, and other AI tool developers can test services under real community conditions and generate evidence applicable to RECs and other local contexts across Europe.
Antrodoco as a real-world testing ground for RECs
The EnergyGuard project brings together five major Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) across the energy value chain, including the Antrodoco REC, based in a small municipality in rural central Italy, where Engreen supported its establishment in 2022.
Within this framework, Engreen is working to improve the management and performance of REC assets through pilot activities grounded in real community conditions and data, enabling AI tools to be tested in credible operating environments.
Antrodoco offers particularly strong conditions for this work because it is a growing REC shaped by strong local participation and a clear commitment to the energy transition.
The REC already brings together around 40 members and connected users, mainly households, together with public sites and local businesses, and includes about 60 kW of photovoltaic capacity and five storage systems totaling roughly 25 kWh. This makes Antrodoco much more than a theoretical pilot.
It is a living lab where local generation, consumption, and storage already interact under real operating conditions.
As a result, it offers a credible environment in which to test services, compare scenarios and assess how the REC can improve over time, while generating lessons that may be relevant for many other energy communities across Europe.
TEF services designed around real REC needs
Engreen is developing four TEF services with EnergyGuard partners, as reported in the last Deliverable D6.1:
- Smart Energy Optimiser – helps the REC manage energy more effectively on a daily basis by analysing consumption, local generation and battery data. It can identify the best moments to use, store or shift electricity, helping reduce demand peaks, increase self-consumption, improve battery use, and limit unnecessary grid purchases or unused renewable surpluses. It can also show when local production is likely to exceed demand and when additional energy may be needed.
- Fair Dynamic Pricing – supports the economic management of the REC by combining tariff signals, expected price variations and local renewable generation patterns. Its purpose is to identify the most cost-effective times for electricity use and battery operation, helping REC users reduce costs, increase the value of shared energy, and benefit from clearer, more predictable price signals.
- Multi-Source Planning Suite – supports the future development of the REC by testing different growth scenarios. It can simulate the impact of new renewable assets, additional storage, or additional members, helping the community compare options, reduce uncertainty, and make more informed investment decisions.
- Predictive Maintenance Monitoring – improves the reliability of REC operations by analysing real-time and historical data from key assets such as PV systems, batteries and smart meters. It is designed to detect anomalies early, anticipate potential faults, and support timely maintenance, helping reduce interruptions, lower operating costs, and improve the overall efficiency and resilience of the community’s energy system.
Building the digital twin of the Antrodoco REC
A key element across all four services is the digital twin of the Antrodoco REC. Engreen is developing it in partnership with EnergyGuard's Hal Service, collecting community data and making it available via automated, real-time APIs.
The aim is to improve data analysis and enhance the model's reliability. At the same time, Engreen is defining methods to estimate data that cannot be captured directly through meters, using historical information updated monthly from national energy portals.
This is particularly important in the case of RECs, where energy flows, user interactions, and operating rules are more complex than in a single asset or a more conventional energy system. In Antrodoco, the digital twin is therefore more than a technical model.
It is a practical tool for experimentation and evidence-building, designed to prepare for the next phase of the project, in which the four TEF services will be tested.
In this way, EnergyGuard aims to make AI tools more reliable and better suited to real-world energy community settings, while supporting REC managers, policy actors, and community members in planning for future growth, improving performance, and making the value of communities more visible.
To take a deep dive into how EnergyGuard is testing and validating AI solutions for the energy sector, please visit https://energy-guard.eu
Article produced by Francesco Vitarello, Project Manager at Engreen
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