02/02/2023

ERSE – the Energy Services Regulatory Authority - has granted the Renewable Energy Community (REC) on Culatra Island, Faro, the classification of pilot project within the framework of self-consumption and renewable energy community projects.

This REC is the result of the Clean Energy for EU Islands Initiative (CE4EU), promoted by the European Commission, which challenged 6 pilot islands to develop a strategic roadmap for the clean energy transition process.

The project, located in the Ria Formosa Natural Park and promoted by C-Coop - Cooperative for Sustainability, aims to create a renewable energy community by implementing a model of participatory economy that allows for the distribution of costs and revenues resulting from renewable energy production and promotes community involvement.

The initiative covers five individual production units for self-consumption (unidades de produção para autoconsumo - UPAC) with 85 kWp, a further 30 kWp soon to be installed, an individual unit for self-consumption with 46 kWh storage, a solar boat with a 17.5 kWh battery, and an energy management system, currently being developed at the University of the Algarve. Participating consumers include 3 mini-markets, 8 restaurants, the primary school, the social centre, the Portuguese Red Cross unit and service centres (the headquarters of the União Culatrense Club, the headquarters of the Culatra Island Residents’ Association, the delegation of the Faro Union of Civil Parishes and the telemedicine unit).

The pilot project, approved for the testing of energy sharing rules for self-consumption, based on hierarchical algorithms and a dynamic setting of energy sharing, is committed to sharing the results, thus  helping to accelerate the development of collective self-consumption and energy communities.

The approval of the pilot project classification by ERSE, under the Self-Consumption Regulation, is without prejudice to the necessary licensing procedure with the Directorate-General of Energy and Geology.

This is now the fourth renewable energy community pilot project to be approved by ERSE.

Check out the list of approved pilot projects.

Find out how Self-Consumption works and the main aspects of the self-consumption scheme in ERSExplica.