CRE, the French energy regulator, has approved a proposal to change the maximum allowed distance between members of energy communities for self-consumption purposes from 2 km to 20 km.
The regulator said the new rules are based on the need to connect people through energy communities in remote and lightly populated areas. The CRE also considered a government proposal to expand the maximum capacity of energy communities from 3 MW to 5 MW, but it decided not to approve the proposed change.
France introduced energy communities in March, following a long pilot phase. The energy community concept brings together geographically close consumers and producers of PV energy into a single self-consumption unit.
Other European countries, including Italy, Spain and Portugal, have also introduced provisions to support the development of energy communities.
