Benefits of cross-border citizen energy communities at distribution system level

Abstract

One challenge of the EU energy transition is the integration of renewable electricity generation in the distribution system. EU energy law proposes a possible solution by introducing “citizen energy communities” (Directive 2019/944/EU) which may be open for “cross-border participation”. This article proposes an innovative way of implementing such cross-border communities by linking distribution systems via a “switchable element”, a generation, storage, or consumption asset with a connection to each country. An optimization model has been developed to calculate the system cost savings of such a connection. Linking regions with complementary characteristics regarding electricity generation and demand via a switchable element leads to more efficient system utilization. Findings are relevant for the transposition of “citizen energy communities” in national laws.

Keywords

• Citizen energy community
• Cross-border
• EU energy law
• System cost
• Energy system modelling