Guidance for national transposition of new EU directives relating to renewable energy prosumers

The document assesses the progress of transposing the RED II and Electricity Directives in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain as of September 2020. It finds that while most countries have focused on legal definitions, they have largely neglected the 'enabling framework' and the mandatory assessment of barriers and potentials required by EU law. The brief argues that simple 'copy-paste' transposition of EU definitions is insufficient and recommends a holistic approach that includes public consultation, political engagement, and specific support for vulnerable households and local authorities to ensure the success of energy communities.

• None of the six examined countries had conducted the mandatory assessment of barriers and potentials for the development of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as required by Article 22.3 of the RED II, with the exception of the Brussels region where a date was envisaged.
• National transposition efforts have primarily focused on adopting legal definitions of energy communities, often neglecting other critical features and the broader enabling framework necessary for implementation.
• Public consultations for National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) in the examined countries were generally dominated by large, organized stakeholders, with a lack of targeted consultations for prosumers and energy communities.
• In Germany, there is a perceived lack of political recognition regarding the value of prosumers and cooperatives, leading to concerns that the potential of energy communities may be blocked to avoid systemic transformation.
• France has incorporated the RED II definition of RECs into its Energy and Climate Law n° 2019-1147, but has explicitly prohibited RECs and CECs from owning or operating distribution networks.
• Portugal's Decree-Law No 162/2019 promotes individual and collective self-consumption and RECs, but the definition of Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) remains missing, and RECs are not yet operational due to a lack of implementing measures.
• Spain's transposition process is described as slow and lacking in public consultation, with a recent Royal Decree-Law (n°23/2020) that copies the REC definition from RED II but provides no framework for CECs or an enabling environment.
• Italy has adopted restrictive conditions for medium-size collective self-consumption (under 200 kW) and is using a 'fast track law' to provide the government with powers to adopt decrees for the transposition of EU community energy provisions.
• The deployment of smart meters is identified as a critical technical requirement for the operation of energy communities, yet it is lacking or slow in several countries, such as Portugal.
• The document recommends that Member States use the EU Recovery Package to integrate energy communities into political discussions and provide necessary funding for RECs and CECs.

APA

Toporek, M., & Provost, L. (2020). Guidance for national transposition of new EU directives relating to renewable energy prosumers. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/d5oltsas/proseu_deliverable-d-3-5.pdf

Chicago

Toporek, Marta, and Laurène Provost. Guidance for national transposition of new EU directives relating to renewable energy prosumers. ClientEarth, 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/d5oltsas/proseu_deliverable-d-3-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Toporek |first1=Marta |last2=Provost |first2=Laurène |title=Guidance for national transposition of new EU directives relating to renewable energy prosumers |publisher=ClientEarth |date=2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/d5oltsas/proseu_deliverable-d-3-5.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{toporek2020guidance, author = {Toporek, Marta and Provost, Laurène}, title = {{Guidance for national transposition of new EU directives relating to renewable energy prosumers}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/d5oltsas/proseu_deliverable-d-3-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }