On 7 June 2022, MUSE GRIDS hosted the webinar “Business models and exploitation strategies for energy communities”.

Energy communities are generating a lot of interest due to the great value they can bring to energy transition. They offer new ways of organising and acting on energy issues that aim to combine citizens participation, financial sustainability, and technical and business innovation. For this purpose, different energy communities implement innovative business models that deliver value and assess their prospects for replication in Europe and beyond. 

In the current webinar, we discussed the existing business models for energy communities and their perspectives for growth based on the experience of two H2020 projects, MUSE GRIDS and iElectrix. Based on the lessons learned from the two projects, we looked at the opportunities that sector integration offers for the definition of business models for energy communities, thanks to the contribution of European Technology and Innovation Platform Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET)’s WG1. 

The experience of MUSE GRIDS was presented by Daniel Zaldívar Moreno, R&D Smart Grid Engineer at CIRCE. Daniel went into detail in the description of the business model archetypes and the description of the business models of the project.

Rafael Cossent Arin, Researcher at the Institute for Research in Technology (IIT) at Comillas Pontifical University, discussed the role of energy communities from the perspective of a DSO, taking the experience of the iElectrix project. Rafael focused on the potential adoption by LECs of the roles of BESS and DR operator to enhance local self-sufficiency and provide flexibility services to DSOs, highlighting the main challenges and opportunities.

Finally, Natalie Samovich, chair of the ETIP SNET WG1 on Reliable, Economic and Efficient Energy Systems, highlighted the importance and opportunities sector integration offers for the design and development of future business models for energy communities and building stakeholders trust. 

You can learn more about the concept of business models for energy communities, the current challenges and future opportunities by watching the recordings of the webinar here.