On Tuesday, 26 January 2021, the first meeting of the Spanish stakeholder desk took place online. This first gathering brought together some of the main community energy stakeholders in Spain (at national, regional and local levels) in order to discuss and identify the existing barriers for Renewable Energy Community (REC) development both in target and model regions. The thematic scope in Spain is on PV technology and integrated approaches (e.g. microgrids). Developments in other Autonomous Communities in Spain are also considered.

The Spanish Desk coordinator, Nicoletta del Bufalo (Ecorys Spain) welcomed all participants and briefly introduced the COME RES project. Pouyan Maleki (Ecorys Spain) presented COME RES objectives and highlights to the approximately 35 stakeholders who took part in the meeting, including, among others, regional and local policy makers, energy agencies, energy cooperatives, associations, SMEs, financial institutions, academia and more.

The EU and national legal framework for community energy was addressed by Sara de la Serna, representative of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition’s Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). Regional government representatives of one of the model regions, Comunidad Valenciana, and the two target regions, the Balearic and Canary Islands, presented the status of development of RECs and the main barriers perceived. Moreover, three community energy initiatives and cooperatives from the model region (Comunidad Valenciana) and Navarre were highlighted as ground-breaking, innovative experiences.

An interactive session, moderated by Enrique Rodríguez de Azero (ACER), allowed participants to exchange their views on the existing barriers for REC development in Spain. Irene Alonso (Ecorys Spain) presented the activities that will follow in 2021 and possible topics for the upcoming Thematic workshop.

Read the full report on the kick off meeting here (Spanish only)