Greenvolt plans to create 120 energy communities
The renewables energy company of Portuguese origin, Greenvolt, which had 12 energy communities by June 2024, and now has six more, plans to increase that number to 120.
Energy communities enable an entity producing energy from solar panels on their premises can share energy with companies and neighbouring households at lower costs and are mushrooming in Portugal.
The CEO of Greenvolt Communities, José Queiros de Almeida, told the online news source ECO that since the end of last year the company had almost doubled the number of energy communities that it has in operation in Portugal from 37 to 72 when in June 2024 it had just 12.
By the end of the year it will have between 40 and 50 projects coming on line, corresponding to 50 megawatts of capacity and a total of 120 communities meaning that Greenvolt will end 2025 with triple the amount of energy communities in operation compared to the same period last year.
José Queiros de Almeida believes that “Portugal probably has the best law in the world for collective energy consumption” which facilities the development of these communities and has applauded recant efforts to digitalise processes from the Directorate-General of Energy and Geology which he says is vital for the growth of this business model.
Energy communities are groups of citizens, businesses, or local authorities that collectively generate, distribute, and consume renewable energy, often through a shared grid or microgrid. While they may sell excess energy back to the main grid, members primarily use the energy they generate within their community.
Billing in energy communities can vary, but typically, members continue to receive and pay their individual electricity bills from their existing energy supplier, and also receive economic compensation or benefits generated by the community’s activities, which can lead to overall savings on their bills.
