La transizione energetica e le comunità di energia rinnovabile

The thesis focuses on a new legal entity: Energy Communities, a fundamental tool for achieving the energy transition. After a brief introduction describing the context in which the energy issue arose, the first chapter is dedicated to the energy market liberalization process. Indeed, to understand the role that Energy Communities could play in the energy transition process, it is essential to comprehend how the Italian energy market operates and the main challenges it faces. The second chapter addresses the energy transition process. Following a short preamble on the importance of considering the social impact of the energy transition, the author summarizes the energy transition policies according to both European and Italian law. Additionally, different renewable energy sources are presented along with the technologies enabling their production. The chapter then analyzes two main issues concerning renewable energy plants: the delicate balance between protecting the landscape and developing energy infrastructures, and the authorization procedures required for the construction and operation of energy-producing plants. The third chapter is dedicated to Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), a new legal entity based on the open and voluntary participation of natural and legal persons, including local public entities, SMEs and research institutions, whose main purpose is to produce environmental, economic or social benefits. The analysis of RECs under European and Italian law is contextualized by also considering REC regulations in Germany, France, and Spain. Subsequently, the thesis explores the issue of the legal form that RECs could adopt, suggesting that REC regulations share many similarities with those of community cooperatives. In the final part, the social impact related to the creation and management of RECs is analyzed.