The COMMUNITAS pilot at Primiero Valley (Italy) is advancing progressively with technical foundation interconnected with the upcoming community engagement programs. The key milestone has been the recent coordination meeting between RINA and ACSM where the partners delineated the data communication protocol critical to facilitate the operations of the smart grid.
On the data front, historic benchmark data for the valley has already been accumulated and the low-voltage (LV) network in a secondary substation completely documented. This included an exhaustive listing of nodes and cables with all necessary electrical information. Data communications are already in place, such as production, utilization, and measurements of voltage feeding into the Multifase tool to enable further precise modelling and analysis.
But the pilot is also working to overcome hurdles. There is ambiguity over the regulatory environment, which has acted as a brake on more intense engagement with potential energy community stakeholders. Encouragingly, this is being addressed. Early in 2025, there will be a social engagement meeting to initiate participatory labs under WP4, to raise awareness and create local knowledge of the benefits of energy communities.
In the next phase, the pilot will move on to co-creation workshops, workshops, and stakeholder meetings. They will be meant to share information on the COMMUNITAS project and stimulate more local uptake. The biggest question still lingered: how to demonstrate the practical advantage of joining an energy community to citizens? While technical installations are taking shape, eyes now turn toward developing trust, knowledge, and involvement at the people level.