MILAN, Italy, July 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gabetti Lab and Edison Energia announce the entry into operation of the first three consortium energy communities in Bergamo, San Lazzaro di Savena (BO) and Dalmine (BG). The agreement, started in 2021, envisages an ambitious plan to develop condominium energy communities in Italy.

To date, the two partners have more than 40 agreements in place for more than 2 MW of photovoltaic capacity in Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Calabria and Piedmont. Edison Energia recently announced its goal of creating 2,200 condominium energy communities for more than 120 MW of total photovoltaic capacity by 2030. The success of the partnership is demonstrated by the size of the existing portfolio, which is greater than the installed capacity at the end of 2022 of all the energy communities in Italy.

The first three condominium energy communities that came into operation, managed by administration offices affiliated to Gabetti Lab, are located in Bergamo, San Lazzaro di Savena (BO) and Dalmine (BG), and involve 58 households for a total of 123 kW. The condominium in Bergamo will be able to produce 52 MWh of renewable energy per year, the condominium in Dalmine 46 MWh, and the condominium in San Lazzaro di Savena 32 MWh. The three condominium energy communities will save more than 50 tonnes of CO2 per year.

"For the achievement of the challenging goals that we have set ourselves in the condominium energy communities development plan from now to 2030, it is essential to have a reliable partner like Gabetti Lab - says Massimo Quaglini, Managing Director of Edison Energia. Today we are happy to announce the commissioning of the first three condominium energy communities and to confirm our full confidence in our partner. For Edison Energia, condominium energy communities represent the perfect synthesis of an all-round sustainable project, through renewable production, focusing on saving families money and encouraging a more conscious and virtuous use of energy".

"We have always supported the importance of energy requalification of the Italian residential building stock and the use of alternative energy sources. This innovative project was made possible thanks to the Network, our way of working 'together' allowed us to manage it in the best possible way. Communities have great potential,” explains Alessandro De Biasio, managing director of Gabetti Lab.

Condominium energy communities are associations between producers and consumers. Condominiums thus become prosumers, i.e. producers and at the same time consumers of the energy they produce through photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of the building. Condominium energy communities can make a concrete contribution to the ecological transition of our country by acting on two levers: on the one hand, through the installation of new renewable systems for self-consumption by households, and on the other hand, by inducing a more conscious use of resources by the households themselves, who produce the energy for their own needs. They also bring important economic benefits, an all-round sustainability. Edison Energia is the only energy operator that offers the market a service at "zero cost" for the community: it takes charge of the investment, installation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems on the condominium roof, recognising an economic benefit to the energy community.

The economic benefit that Edison Energia recognises to each member of the energy community is quantifiable, on average, in the savings of 2-3 monthly electricity bills each year for 20 years. If the members of the community subscribe to Edison Energia's electricity and gas offer and follow virtuous self-consumption behaviour, the savings can further increase to double, thus halving the average annual electricity bill of a residential user. The economic benefit for each member of the community is greatest if the householder consumes at the time the photovoltaic system produces. This induces the householder to change his or her behaviour, shifting consumption from afternoon/evening to daytime hours, and favouring electrification of consumption by choosing electric appliances (induction hobs, electric boilers and heat pumps) over gas appliances.

Operating mechanisms
The condominium energy community involves the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of the condominium to produce green energy. The system occupies the space proportional to the thousandths of the condominium owners who decide to join the community. Once in operation, all the renewable energy produced is sold to the national electricity grid and this represents the community's first source of revenue. The second comes from virtual self-consumption, which consists of consumption at the time the plant is producing. Edison Energia, which bears all the costs, retains a percentage of the two sources of revenue, with the condominium energy community receiving the remainder divided among its members on the basis of their own self-consumption.

For more information:
Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

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