SOSTENIBILITÀ DEL SETTORE ENERGETICO E GOVERNANCE DELLE COMUNITÀ LOCALI: CONTRATTI E DIRITTI

The thesis explores the legal dimension of sustainability in the energy sector, analysing how it shapes the governance of renewable energy and local participation. It focuses on Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as innovative legal entities within the European and Italian frameworks for the ecological transition. Through the lens of sustainable development law, the research examines how the principles of environmental protection, social inclusion and subsidiarity influence contractual autonomy and the structure of local energy governance. Building on the European Green Deal, Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, and Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II), as implemented by Legislative Decree No. 199/2021, the study identifies RECs as hybrid legal models balancing market efficiency, environmental sustainability and social solidarity. The analysis investigates their organizational forms, contractual dynamics, and regulatory boundaries, highlighting the implications of their possible qualification as bodies governed by public law. Using a normative and comparative approach, the research compares European, U.S., and Japanese experiences of collective energy management. The findings show that RECs embody a sustainable paradigm of private law, combining cooperative models, civic participation, and shared governance. The study concludes that the integration of sustainability into contract and energy law calls for the evolution of an “ecological private law”, capable of harmonizing economic, social, and environmental interests in line with constitutional principles of solidarity and environmental protection.