The Renewable Energy Communities initiative in Granada, Spain, is a pioneering effort to advance the city’s goals for sustainability, energy independence, and social equity. Developed under the framework of the city’s Local Green Deal (LGD) and aligned with the Granada Urban Agenda, the initiative champions community-led renewable energy solutions to create a more resilient, inclusive, and climate-friendly energy system. Centred on solar power, it focuses on the creation and expansion of energy communities, starting in the culturally significant neighbourhoods of Realejo and Albaicín, with the ultimate goal of empowering citizens and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
At the heart of Renewable Energy Communities is the Energy Community of the Alhambra’s Neighbourhoods (CEBA), a flagship project demonstrating how renewable infrastructure can be deployed in heritage areas without compromising cultural values. CEBA plans to install a 100 kW photovoltaic system on municipal rooftops, expected to generate around 160,000 kWh annually and prevent approximately 56 metric tons of CO₂ emissions each year. Beyond its environmental impact, CEBA reinforces social equity by allocating 5% of the energy produced to vulnerable households and reinvesting 5% of revenues into community development projects, strengthening both social cohesion and local economic resilience.
Renewable Energy Communities is supported by a robust ecosystem of partners. The City Council of Granada leads coordination, providing public infrastructure, overseeing implementation, and ensuring the project’s alignment with broader municipal climate strategies. The OSCE-OTC, a technical NGO, plays a key enabling role by offering free legal and technical expertise, organising public engagement activities, and facilitating access to funding sources such as Next Generation EU and IDAE. Their support is essential to the scalability and replicability of energy communities across Granada.
Together, these efforts showcase how collaborative governance, citizen participation, and strategic public-private cooperation can drive transformative climate action. The Renewable Energy Communities initiative not only accelerates Granada’s transition to clean energy but also provides a replicable model for other heritage-rich cities seeking to integrate sustainability, social equity, and cultural preservation into their urban energy strategies.
Innovative elements
- Social Equity and Inclusion
- The initiative’s commitment to allocating 5% of energy to vulnerable families and reinvesting revenues in local projects addresses energy poverty, making the benefits of renewable energy accessible to all, particularly underserved communities.
- Scalability and Replicability
- The framework created for Renewable Energy Communities has been designed to be scalable across different neighbourhoods and replicable in other cities with similar challenges, particularly in heritage-rich areas where balancing sustainability with cultural preservation is key.
Success factors
- Community Engagement
- The active involvement of residents in the energy transition, through educational workshops, outreach programs, and direct participation in energy management, builds local ownership, ensuring its sustainability and relevance to the community’s needs.
- Integration with Municipal Infrastructure
- By leveraging existing municipal rooftops and public spaces for photovoltaic installations, the project maximises the use of public assets and reduces the need for new materials and infrastructure.
Enablers
- Leveraging European Funding
- The use of funds like Next Generation EU and IDAE to support technical and legal assistance helps lower the financial barriers for community participation, making renewable energy more accessible to residents and businesses.
- Technical and Legal Expertise
- OSCE-OTC's role in providing free technical, legal, and advisory services ensures that the energy communities are built on legitimate technical foundations and compliant with regulations, helping mitigate risks and improve project success rates.
- City Council of Granada
- The City Council of Granada serves as the lead coordinator and primary facilitator of the Renewable Energy Communities initiative. It contributes public land for photovoltaic installations, monitors the project’s progress, and ensures alignment with the city’s climate strategy and urban resilience goals.
- CEBA
- Energy Community of the Alhambra’s Neighbourhoods (CEBA) is a key community-driven partner leading the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure in Granada’s historic neighbourhoods. CEBA focuses on installing photovoltaic systems on municipal rooftops, dedicates a portion of energy to vulnerable families, and reinvests revenues into local projects.
Resources needed
- Shared-Responsibility Commitments
- Funding and operations for this project are distributed through a multi-stakeholder model. CEBA is financed through a mix of community contributions and private investment, while OSCE-OTC's services are supported by public and EU funds. The City Council contributes in-kind by offering rooftops and receives a portion of the generated energy. This shared-responsibility model ensures that energy communities are both democratically managed and financially sustainable and requires commitment from each stakeholder through the initiative’s rollout.