The race for a renewable energy community involves the Castello Cooperative at the forefront, which has long been committed to ever greater environmental sustainability. Last April 30, Castello Green House was established, the first Renewable Energy Community (CER) in the form of a cooperative in Ferrara, chaired by Massimo Buriani. 42 energy-consuming members have joined, while the Castello Residents’ Cooperative has been designated as a producer member and is already working on designing the plants. “We are collecting applications while waiting for the first board of directors to be called,” explains Loredano Ferrari, Castello’s number one, “so a regulation will be defined with recognition of the role that the various members will have within the community.” The cooperative is already working on the design of the plants: “There will be nineteen, some are already finished while others will keep us busy all summer – Ferrari said -, we will build almost twenty new plants that will constitute the production potential made available by the energy community: it is 537 kW of power, produced in sharing with all the subjects that will be part of the project. We are already in an operational phase but at the same time a little limited by the bureaucratic procedures that the implementing decrees establish in these cases. When all the plants are built, then they will be officially recognized and production will begin”. In the province, several municipalities are moving on this front, above all Cento, one of the first in Italy to give life to a renewable energy community in its territory. On June 19, Cento Comunità was formed, the first founding nucleus. But in other centers too, the process is well underway. “The references on which we can be certain are the municipalities that participated in the regional tender to obtain contributions for the establishment of new Cers. Cento, in fact, is one of those – Ferrari explains -, but also Bondeno, Copparo and Comacchio have moved in this direction. We are all in the starting phase”. The first configuration of Cento Cer will start within the boundaries of the territory served by the primary electrical cabin of Cento in an area of 120 kmq, 90% of the territory with extension to areas of other neighboring municipalities. Three photovoltaic producers for an installed roof power of over 1 MWp and two non-profit organizations that will consume the excess energy and fed into the electricity grid by the three producers. The initial configuration will be followed by other plants and other consumers.
Jacob Cavallini
