James Powell, Co-Founder & CEO of Orklys, states that Europe’s “independence moment” requires an energy revolution; however, communities currently lack the necessary tools
Europe has given itself a clear deadline. The European Commission has framed 2026 as the European Union’s (EU) “independence moment” – a point at which energy security, economic resilience and geopolitical autonomy must finally align. With an Energy Security Package due in March and wind and solar overtaking fossil fuels for the first time in 2025, the direction of travel appears unmistakable.
Yet beneath the headline progress sits an uncomfortable truth. The fastest, most resilient route to energy independence already exists, but most communities don’t know how to access it.
Across the EU, more than 2,500 renewable energy communities (RECs) are already operating, delivering over 2 GW of installed capacity and supporting over 1 million homes and businesses. These locally organised groups of citizens, businesses, or municipalities produce, share and consume renewable energy together, offering a practical, community-driven solution to Europe’s energy security and independence challenges.
Yet thousands more RECs never make it past the planning stage. Despite being a core pillar of the EU energy strategy, with the potential to supply up to 70% of national electricity demand, just 2-5% of the areas mandated to host energy communities under REPowerEU have done so.
This isn’t just a technology problem. It’s also a knowledge problem, sometimes a finance problem, and, in some cases, a policy problem. If 2026 is truly Europe’s independence moment, it’s one that both technology and targeted policy reform can solve.
Why renewable energy communities matter now
Europe is attempting to run a 21st-century economy on energy infrastructure built in the 1950s, with very little foresight. Power systems built around large, centralised fossil fuel plants are increasingly misaligned with modern political and security realities. Member States can trade only around half of their potential cross-border grid capacity, while reported Russian cyberattacks on European energy infrastructure surged by 400% last year.
The result is more than inefficiency. A single, centralised system that routinely shuts down the cheapest source of power (renewables) while ramping up the most expensive (import-dependent fossil fuel peaker plants) creates a clear structural vulnerability. That risk is compounded by an increasing reliance on remote generation assets, including offshore projects that often lack the grid capacity to deliver power where it’s most needed.
RECs offer a different model. By producing and consuming electricity locally, they reduce pressure on overstretched grids and defer billions of euros in upgrade costs. By decentralising generation, they spread cyber risk rather than concentrating it in a small number of critical assets. Most importantly, they can deliver energy independence at the community level this decade, not in some distant future. And rather than sending energy input revenue overseas, the revenue stays at home with the local communities that made it happen.
Economics now strongly favours this approach. According to IRENA’s latest data, the global weighted-average levelised cost of electricity for new onshore wind projects in 2024 was around €0.03 per kWh, with solar PV close behind at roughly €0.04 per kWh – both consistently cheaper than fossil-fuel generation. Through the Green Deal, the EU has earmarked €225 billion for local, citizen-led energy projects by 2030, and 18 Member States now offer feed-in tariffs. Many community solar projects achieve payback in under six years.
Denmark demonstrates what is possible at scale. The country is now producing most of its electricity from renewable sources. Its success is rooted in long-standing openness: when wind patterns were mapped in the 1970s, the data was published freely.
In Thyborøn, that approach enabled a 15 MW community-owned wind turbine, backed by around 20,000 local investors who raised £17 million within a single district. The project was oversubscribed by double, with recent participants seeing returns of 15.7%.
Research consistently shows that financial returns are the primary driver for community energy participation. When neighbours see tangible economic benefits alongside climate gains, adoption accelerates.
An energy revolution: The knowledge gap and how to bridge it
If the case for RECs is so compelling, why aren’t there more of them?
The biggest barrier isn’t technology or policy itself, it’s knowledge. Setting up an energy community requires understanding 25+ national laws, countless local rules, company regulations, tax codes and grid connection requirements. Local officials often want to support these projects but lack the capacity or specialist expertise to guide them through the process. An EU-funded initiative supporting pilot communities in Spain, Poland and Italy identified “legal, administrative, financial, social and organisational barriers” as the dominant obstacles.
For decades, this knowledge has been locked inside large engineering firms, making it accessible only to major utilities and well-resourced developers. Communities couldn’t touch that level of expertise – until now.
We’ve created a product that democratises this knowledge, transforming what was once the preserve of specialists into tools any community can use. Orklys uses agentic AI and fintech to guide communities through planning, financing and regulatory approval, translating complex requirements into actionable steps.
The path forward: Enabling action today while streamlining tomorrow
The policy framework already exists. RED III sets a binding 42.5% renewable energy target by 2030, while REPowerEU mandates support for renewable energy communities and requires Member States to report on progress.
Two things must now happen in parallel.
First, communities ready to act can use digital platforms to navigate today’s complexity. The tools exist now to make expert knowledge more accessible, making RECs viable under current rules, not just future ones. When knowledge becomes accessible, communities start believing “we can do this.” And they’re right.
Second, policymakers should accelerate targeted reforms. Building on new EU grid guidelines that support discounted local tariffs for Energy Communities, the forthcoming Citizens’ Energy Package and the planned revision of the Governance Regulation in 2026 provide a clear opportunity to simplify permitting, harmonise local frameworks, offer tax incentives, and remove barriers to selling surplus power back to the grid.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, EU gas imports from Russia have fallen by 65%, triggering 56 GW of new solar and wind installations in 2023 alone. Community-led projects consistently achieve public approval rates above 80%, outperforming top-down utility models.
Europe’s independence moment demands both immediate action and structural improvement. Communities can build renewable energy projects today using platforms that bridge the knowledge gap. Policymakers can streamline the frameworks that created that gap in the first place. Together – technology enabling action now, targeted policy reforms accelerating deployment tomorrow – Europe can deliver the decentralised, resilient energy infrastructure that provides security this decade.
