How can the management and implementation of energy communities be simplified? This question is at the heart of the new international project RENvolveIT (Regional Energy Networking — cross-sectional involvement through a modular interactive toolbox). The aim is to develop a software tool that supports energy communities throughout their entire life cycle.

Renewable energy communities play a central role in the energy transition. They enable individuals, companies, and organizations to generate, store, and use renewable energy together. Projects such as RENvolveIT help to facilitate this process and drive the energy transition forward.

A toolbox for energy communities

At the heart of the project is the RENvolveIT toolbox, a modular, interactive toolbox from which each energy community can select the appropriate modules. New communities can use it to find the right legal form or a suitable business model, for example. Existing communities receive real-time insights into electricity surpluses or shortages in order to optimize consumption within the energy community.

International cooperation for innovative solutions

The project brings together universities, research institutes, software companies, and non-governmental organizations from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. Established energy communities are also involved as partners.

Proven modules from various countries are used and scaled up at the European level. Salzburg Research, for example, is contributing its “Community Aggregation Tool” for energy communities. “Our tool provides energy communities with real-time insights into current electricity surpluses or shortages within the community via a dashboard. The members of the community can then consume or shift loads accordingly. In this way, the jointly generated electricity with losses is fed into the general grid or potentially expensive electricity is drawn from it,” says project manager Stefan Linecker from Salzburg Research. The Salzburg Research tool is currently adapted to the framework conditions in Austria and will be expanded in the research project to include the specific needs and legal framework conditions of the other participating countries.

Transnational learning for the energy transition

The project focuses on the exchange of knowledge, experience, and technologies in order to overcome hurdles such as regulatory differences between EU countries. This diversity is seen as an opportunity to learn from each other and develop innovative approaches.

RENvolveIT is funded by the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) as part of the Joint Call 2023. The project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under the number 101069750 and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.