ECF Regulatory Report: Empowering Local Grids: How Energy Communities Can Enable Variable Renewable Integration

The aim of the research was to identify and measure the beneficial effects of community energy initiatives on the electricity grid, particularly regarding the integration of solar power plants. Additionally, we aimed to identify a set of regulatory incentive tools that can effectively support community energy projects in expanding their efforts in ways that benefit the overall energy system.

In the initial phase of the research, a network modeling was conducted to examine 16 distinct scenarios, each reflecting various energy community roles and alternative network solutions. The impacts were analyzed using two different low-voltage network models: one model simulated a low-voltage transformer circuit representative of conditions in Hungary, while the other utilized the Cigré international benchmark model, representing the residential section of a European low-voltage circuit.